Within the Twilight
by Thanathos
Summary: Set after the Phantom thief G arc. Timothy is brought to the Black Order by a roughed up but victorious group. But one of them has a wound he can't remember getting. And that will cause a lot of problems. Sorry for the bad introduction, it's my first try.
1. Welcome to the Black Order

Within the Twilight

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Black Order

Disclaimer: Close your eyes. When it comes to Anime & Manga, what you see is what I own. Seriously, if anyone of us owned the stories we write Fanfics about, do you think we'd be here?

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"Wow, so this is the Black Order? It's huge!", Timothy shouted while looking over Allen's shoulder, "But why did you build it on a mountain?"

He scooted around for a better view, which caused the white-haired boy carrying him to flinch in pain and almost dropping them back down the cliff. The wounds the Level 4 had left on Allen were still fresh, heck, some were still bleeding. Using far range weaponry was, at least in Allen's opinion, very troublesome and almost unfair, especially since most of Crown Clowns abilities were close-range. There was obviously something wrong with those wounds, or more precisely with what had caused them, because even after almost a week, the healing process was slow at best and those cuts kept on reopening, though it was slowly getting better. He still wasn't quite sure how he managed to destroy that Akuma, he only remembered that something had distracted it long enough for him to land a finishing blow. Kanda had cut the Level 3 to ribbons. After that the barrier that blocked Allen's eye and the usage of the gates of the Arc collapsed, but somehow he still couldn't summon the gates and to make matters worse, Reever had shown up and told them that the waterway would be closed for a while and they had to take the way up the mountain. Needless to say, nobody had been looking forward to that.

Timothy didn't seem to notice the pain he was causing as he squirmed even more while hardly ever stopping his endless flow of questions. What the group of Allen, Marie, Kanda and, having to be supported by the Samurai after taking a hit from a Level 3 to protect the boy taking a piggyback ride on Allen, Link found most annoying was the fact that Timothy's Innocence seemed to be sentient, having considerate knowledge about Akuma, and, as the boy never stopped bragging about, looked "like a really cool, older version of me". But since no one but Timcampy and Timothy himself were able to see and hear it, they were never really sure who the boy was talking to.

"Couldn't we have taken the others from the orphanage with us?", Timothy asked, this time obviously them and not his Innocence.

"Absolutely not!", Link immediately replied, "That would be a direct violation of protocol 7 paragraph..."

"We wouldn't have been able to get them up here", Allen interrupted, realizing the boy had been breaking protocols practically his entire life and wouldn't accept this one either. "And we would get in serious trouble with the higher-ups." he added as he caught Links gaze. It was surprising how strict he could look even with his broken ribs.

"Okay." Timothy pouted, before continuing "But is this really the place where you live? It looks so creepy, like it's..."

"Moyashi, tell the pipsqueak to shut up", Kanda interrupted Timothy and, placing his hand on Mugen, added "or I'll shut him up myself."

"My name is Allen, BaKanda, not Moyashi." Allen immediately answered. _'And I've already tried'_ he added mentally. He really liked Timothy, but they were all exhausted and wanted some quiet. But more importantly, Kanda had called him Beansprout AGAIN!

Kanda was equally annoyed with Allen. The stupid Beansprout had dared to call him that again. He was starting to become as irritating as that stupid Lavi.

Both seemed ready to attack each other when Marie interrupted them, pointing at the gate. "Calm down, you two, were almost there. Oh, and Timothy" the boy looked up.

"Yes?" the boy asked, curios what the blind man wanted.

"Since you're not hurt, maybe you should get of of Allen." Marie said seriously. Timothy looked at Allen's back, only now noticing the blood stains that had formed on his shirt, and jumped to the ground.

"Sorry Allen.", he pleaded "I didn't mean to..."

"Don't worry, it's nothing." Allen lied. Then the scene before them caught their attention. Kanda, who had passed the duty of being Links crutch to Marie and walked ahead, was having a discussion with the Gatekeeper, which, of course, ended with Kanda drawing his sword and threatening the Gatekeeper into opening the gate.

"You sure have a way with words, don't ya, Kanda?" Allen asked Kanda sarcastically as they entered the Order.

"Che, shut up Moyashi. We'll bring him" he nodded to Link, who had been amazingly quiet the entire time as he now leaned on Marie "to the infirmary, while you bring that pipsqueak" he pointed at Timothy, who showed him his outstretched tongue in return "to Komui and give a mission report. By the time you get to the infirmary, I should be long gone and won't have to see you."

Allen glared at him, before muttering, loud enough for everyone to hear "Hm, if I'm lucky, I don't have to see BaKandas girly face for the rest of the day." There was a moment of silence before Kanda snapped. He drew Mugen and Allen activated his left arm, ready for a fight. Timothy's eyes widened as Kanda raised his sword above his head, seemingly ready to strike. At that precise moment something broke the tension. Kanda let out a pained hiss and turned his upper body around, looking at his lower backside in shock. There, as big as a child's head, was Timcampy, his teeth sunk into Kanda's… Behind. Timothy laughed out and Allen saw his chance, grabbed him and made a bolt for the door leading to the science department, going as fast as his injuries allowed. Timcampy released Kanda and followed them. Before Kanda fully realized what had happened, he, Marie and Link were the only ones in sight. He turned to them and hissed "If anyone hears about this you're both dead!"

Allen leaned on the wall, still grinning about what had just happened. Timothy was shaking with laughter. He didn't like Kanda since he first met him, as Phantom thief G he gave him a beating, and when he met them in, or rather with his body, the man had held his sword to his throat. Allen smirked and looked at Timcampy."Thanks Timcampy, but I'm worried. You bit in something really gross and I don't want you to get sick."

At that point, Timothy howled with laughter. When he had finally calmed down enough to speak, he asked Allen "Is it always this fun here?"

Allen smiled. "Not always, but it's hardly ever boring. Welcome to the Black Order, Timothy."

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And that's my first chapter. Tell me what you think about it, but please, it's my first try at writing stories, so have mercy.

Constructive criticism is always welcome. Advice, concerning story, grammar or otherwise is also welcome (I'm not that good with computers and quite frankly I have no idea how things work at this website, for example, how people get beta-readers for their stories).

I would like to add that English is not my native language, so please tell me if something sounds weird.

Updates will not be frequent, sometimes twice a week, sometimes every two months, depending on what's happening here. Also, should this story suck real bad, or in case I lose interest, I will stop updating.

Please review


	2. At the Order

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM, I'm German, not Japanese

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The walk to Komui's office had been rather uneventful, and when they finally reached it, they were nearly crushed by a falling mountain of paper, only saved by Johnny pulling them back.

"Hey, let me go right now, four-eyes!" Timothy shouted, not liking the way he was held by the collar of his shirt like when he was in trouble back in the orphanage.

"Um, Allen, who's that?" Johnny asked, looking more curious than insulted.

"Oh right, this is Timothy, a new Innocence-user. We brought him here so he can become a exorcist." Allen replied. "And Timothy, this is Johnny. He's works in the science department under Komui and..."

"Is one of the poor souls how battle all this paperwork." Johnny sighed and waved a hand toward the stacks of papers almost reaching the ceiling. "Nice to meet you Timothy. But seriously Allen, lately every time we send you somewhere, you find a Innocence-user. Keep this up, and you won't have a free day for the rest of your life once Central notices." Johnny smiled.

"Just don't tattle, okay?" Allen laughed. "I have more than enough trouble with them already. Link is a nice guy and I hope his ribs heal soon, but I don't need a shadow behind me lecturing me about what I should have on my plate." Allen would tolerate much, but food was were he drew a line. Nobody told him what to eat and most definitely not how much.

"You have to do all THAT?! It's your job to take care of THIS much work?" Timothy, who had been staring at the papers in apparent shock had finally remembered how to speak.

Johnny's face fell. "Well technically no," he answered, grinding his teeth. "Most of what you see here is actually supervisor Komui's job, but..."

"But the day Komui does his job without being forced into it is the the day the Millennium Earl knocks on our gates to surrender." Allen had to smile as he finished the sentence.

Timothy looked confused and seemed ready to ask yet _another_ question as they heard a girls voice. "Johnny, where are you? I brought some coffee."

"Ah, Lenalee, over here. Thank you very much, you're a lifesaver!" Johnny called, waving at a girl with short, greenish hair around sixteen, holding a tray with coffee-filled cups which she was handing out to everyone. The girl apparently called Lenalee looked up and spotted them. She mumbled something and was suddenly wearing black and dark red boots going over her knees. With one jump she jumped over desks and paper towers without causing anything to fall and land in front of the group.

"Allen, I heard you're back, welcome home."She smiled at Allen.

"I'm back." He answered, also smiling. Timothy had a feeling that he was missing something, like those words had some meaning he couldn't understand. Then the girl looked at him and gave him a absolutely charming smile.

"Hello, my name is Lenalee Lee, you must be Timothy. As you've seen, I'm an exorcist too. I've heard a lot about you. Is it true you can turn Akuma into Anti-Akuma weapons?"

Timothy blushed and mumbled something that could be a yes. Lenalee smiled at him and turned to Johnny.

"Oh, and before I forget, we're almost out of coffee." she stated. Johnny nearly dropped his cup. The room, formerly filled with enough noise to be mistaken for a smaller train station, grew silent instantly, the only noise being a few coughs by someone who had apparently choked on his coffee. Timothy could see faces turning towards them with an expression of horror etched into their faces. Then as if it was planned, they all shouted one word.

"WHAAT?!" Lenalee just shrugged.

"It'll last the rest of the week, but after that..."

"Rest of the week? But it's Friday!" someone called, seemingly desperate.

"I know," Lenalee replied "but I'll probably be too busy to get any more. So, maybe one of you could buy some when they head to town."

In the utter pandemonium that followed with practically the entire science department trying to organize the resupply of their caffeine, Lenalee signaled Allen and Timothy to follow her.

"Come with me, I'll bring you to Nii-san, uhm I mean the supervisor. And don't touch the stacks, or you might be buried alive."

Timothy, insecure because they did look like they could really do that, nudged Allen and whispered "She's kidding, right?"

"It's happened before," Allen shrugged "now come on, were getting left behind." And with that he swiftly turned around and headed towards the passage Lenalee had just vanished in.

Timothy followed them, his eyes glued to the paper mountain range, ready to make a bolt for the exit at the smallest sign of falling paper.

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When Allen, Lenalee and Timothy entered Komui's office, Timothy first thought that the floor was white. It took a second look to realize that the floor wasn't white, but simply covered with unfinished paperwork. Timothy checked the date on a random paper and found that it was laying there for at least three months. Komui was found in his, according to Allen, usual position behind his desk. Asleep. Allen shook him, but the man didn't even flinch. After a minute, he shook his head and turned to Lenalee.

"If you ask me, if we want to wake him up, I'm afraid we'll have to use **drastic measures**." He looked at Lenalee, as if asking for permission. Timothy wondered what these seemingly experienced warriors considered "drastic measures".

Lenalee sighed and nodded. "Seems like it's the only way." She looked like she really didn't want this to happen.

Allen leaned closer to Komui and whispered: "Lenalee is with a boy."

The man jumped up, a giant drill in his his hand, and screamed "WHO DARES TOUCH MY LENALEE?!"

'Where the hell did that come from?!', Timothy asked himself as he stared at the drill. The man spotted him and seemed ready to charge at Timothy, when it finally dawned on him.

"...with a boy? Oh, very funny, Allen. So you must be Timothy. I've heard a lot about you, Phantom thief." Timothy blushed. "You found another one, Allen. And another parasitic-type."

"Excuse me, but I'm a parawhat?" Timothy asked, puzzled. Allen smiled.

"It means that your Innocence is part of your body, Timothy. Like my arm."

"Ah, and why didn't he just say that in the first place?" Allen just chuckled.

"Anyway, lets get you checked out. We need to see how high your synchronization with your Innocence is." When Komui realized the boys face was one big question mark, he smiled and added "Um, that means we'll check how good you can use your Innocence. This way, please. And Allen, while we're gone, you should go to the infirmary while the head nurse is having her day off. You can pick him up and give him the tour later." Allen nodded. "I on the other hand have some work I need to finish." These words shocked everyone but Timothy, who didn't yet understand just how often the supervisor had weaseled out of his job. Allen turned to the observation system at the gate and stared into it.

"Allen, what are you looking for?" Komui asked.

"The Earl carrying a white flag." Allen muttered. Lenalee giggled, but fortunately for him, Komui hadn't understood him. "I'll give Timothy the tour when I'm back."

"Great, I have to help a few divisions, so I couldn't do it. I'll be done in an hour, so see you then." Lenalee called as she ran off. Allen put his hand on Timothy's shoulder as he told him "Komui tends to forget to warn people about this, but the test is that you're grabbed by Hevlaska, the keeper of Innocence and she just knows. But she looks a bit like a huge monster, so don't be scared, it won't hurt."

"Thanks, but what was that huge drill for?" Timothy asked.

"Let me put it this way: Pray that your Innocence never needs repairs. See you." Allen replied and headed towards the infirmary.

Timothy looked puzzled for a moment, then his eyes widened as he figured out what Allen meant. And indeed, he sent a silent prayer to god, begging him to make sure he never needed that drill. Then he gulped and followed Komui on some weird platform. The platform then proceeded to sink, bringing them to the lower floors. As the light slowly got dimmer, he suddenly heard his Innocence.

"_I can sense the Cube."_ Divine Possession stated. Timothy was about to ask what cube he was talking about, as something grabbed him and lifted him into the air.

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Allen had been at the infirmary, but since something slowed the healing process, they couldn't do much more than bandage him up to slow down the bleeding and tell him to take it easy for a few days. So here he was, waiting for Timothy. And on cue, he arrived for the tour. So while he showed him around the Order and explained how things worked around here, he was hearing about Timothy's first meeting with Hevlaska. Timothy's synchronization was at 69% and there had been a prophecy for him as well, but Timothy had already forgotten what it said. Some people, including Levrier, had asked him many questions, apparently hoping that he would be able to control level 4s if he reached or surpassed 100% and tried to coax him into leaving his body in their care while permanently controlling them. Timothy hadn't liked the idea, and his Innocence, which he started to call DP, had agreed with him. Allen had a feeling that they hadn't given up on that idea, but now was not the time to discuss that. It had been well over an hour, more than enough time. He turned to Timothy and smiled.

"And to end our tour, this is where we eat. I think you'll like it."

Timothy looked confused, when Allen opened the door and softly pushed him into the dining area.

"Hey, what's the big..." He never finished the sentence, because right in front of him was a crowd of people under a huge banner that read: WELCOME TO THE BLACK ORDER, TIMOTHY.

Lenalee was standing next to a red-haired boy with an eye-patch and waved at them. "Thanks Allen, we barely made it in time. By the way Timothy, this" she pointed to a big, tanned man wearing sunglasses and a huge smile "is Jerry our kitchen miracle who made it all possible." Only now Timothy noticed the mountains of food and sweets on the tables. His stomach chose this moment to try it's impression of an angry lion.

"Was that your stomach or is there a wild animal on the loose? Take a few bites, I just love people with healthy appetites."Jerry laughed. Nobody had to tell Timothy that twice. He dug in, only stopping once.

"Is all this really for me?" he asked.

"If you mean the food, then no." Allen immediately replied "But if you're referring to this party, then yes, of course."

"We want you to feel at home. We know you miss your friends, but we'll try to be your new family." Lenalee told him.

"Feel right at home, and at like it if you want. We've been toughed up by so many peoples habits, mine included, that yours won't make any difference." The red-head joined the conversation "By the way, I'm Lavi." Then he grinned "Are we gonna stand and stare all day or can we get this party started!"

Then he jumped on a chair, grabbed a bottle of what looked like champaign, popped the lid and shouted: "LETS HAVE SOME FUN, PEOPLE!" everyone laughed at that and the party was officially started.

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And that's Chapter 2. Tell me how you liked it, I try to keep them all in character, but I seriously lack experience. Calling Timothy's Innocence DP is not very creative I know, but when I checked they called him Divine Possession and I'm just to lazy to write that every time I want him to speak. Again, tips, ideas and helpful critics are always welcome and I value everyones opinion. I'll try to get the 3rd chapter done by tomorrow, but it could take up to Thursday.

Please Review


	3. The last party

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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What Lavi called a party was mostly just people chatting with each other and Timothy spent his time running around and asking questions everyone tried to answer and snag food from tables. Jerry had returned to his domain to make sure they wouldn't run out of food. Timothy had stared in limitless joy when he heard that Jerry would make him everything he asked for. When he returned to Allen, Lenalee and Lavi, he just heard the red-head say: "...and Yu said he didn't want to come, but I think he must be hurt, he looked like he could hardly walk."

"Um, who's Yu?" Timothy asked.

"Oh, you're back. You know him already Yu Kanda." Lavi answered.

Timothy grinned. "Oh yeah, him. If I remember it right, something bit him, isn't that right Allen?" he questioned while shoving some sort of biscuit into his mouth. While the others were staring at the white-haired boy who stuttered a yes and glanced at Timcampy, who was flying around the room, Timothy spotted a smaller table stacked with tasty-looking foods. He was inches away from the meal as he was suddenly grabbed and pulled back.

"Oh no you don't, " he turned and saw Allen, still smiling "that's mine. I could use a bite about now, since we're on the topic." And with that, Allen sat down and reached for the silverware, seemingly ignoring Timothy.

"The entire table? No fair! Isn't this supposed to be my welcome party?" he turned to Lenalee and Lavi "Why does he get a whole table of food for himself?" Lenalee giggled.

"Here's the thing," Lavi started to explain "we have a deal with Allen. He gets his own table and we make sure there's food on it, and in return he keeps away from the other tables." Timothy seemed confused, so Lavi pointed towards "Allen's" table. Timothy turned around and was sure that if his jaw could drop to the floor, it would. The formally overfilled table was down to about a third of the glory of its contents and constantly shrinking. Allen wasn't just eating the food, he was inhaling it! That was the only explanation, nobody could eat that, especially not like that. It was almost grotesque how Allen exterminated mountains of food in unrealistically short time while still keeping the etiquette appropriate for dining with a king.

Timothy's thoughts were interrupted when Lavi spoke again. "His injuries must be worse than I thought, he should be done already."

Timothy stared at him. This was eating slowly? Tsukikami chose this moment to add: _"Master, you should keep a careful eye on your limbs during mealtimes."_ Timothy didn't think that was funny, in fact, he had just involuntarily pictured loosing a limb to Allen's appetite, and that image overlapping with the memory of his first encounter with Tsukikami before he had fully manifested in his human-shape wasn't helping either. He was almost grateful when Allen interrupted that unpleasant train of thought.

"By the way, I haven't seen Miranda or Crowry anywhere. Anyone know where they are?"

"They left for a mission right after you. I heard they're on the way back and actually should have arrived two days ago. But we know they're okay and will arrive this evening." Lenalee answered. When she realized Allen and Lavi were staring at her, she added "What?"

Allen started "You've sent Miranda, the queen of depressions..." here Lavi started speaking "...and Kuro-chan the timid mourner on a mission together? With no one to cheer them up?" Lenalee nodded, apparently aware of where this was going. "Which genius came up with that idea?" Allen and Lavi asked at the same time.

"Levrier." Lenalee answered, with barely hidden contempt in her voice. Timothy, who had quietly listened while staring at Allen's now empty table, realized he wasn't the only one who didn't like the man who suggested he never return to his body, in fact, everyone but Link seemed to hate him

"That explains everything. Nobody but him could come up with such a stupid idea. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they spent half the time depressing each other into near-suicide!" Lavi cursed.

"Just who are Miranda and Crowry?" Timothy asked. They looked at each other and started to tell Timothy about their friends. Timothy found it all confusing and wondered if there was such a thing as a sane and completely normal exorcist.

"_What about yourself, master? Are you sane and normal?"_ Tsukikami asked, humored tone in his voice.

"Of course I am! How am I weird?" Timothy hissed, get in a bad mood when seeing his Innocence raise an eyebrow.

"_You spent the last few years going in and out different bodies to steal things to make money you'd donate to your orphanage. You walked around with a giant orb on your forehead for those years that recently turned into a tattoo and allows you to take control of monsters, change them into a different shape and make them fight their kin. Oh, and you're talking to someone only you and a golden ball with wings can see. Hm, you're right master, so far nothing out of the ordinary."_ Tsukikami stated with an amused smirk.

"Shut up!" Timothy hissed again and turned to his new Friends. "So," he asked "how many exorcists are there?"

Everyone blinked in surprise. They thought about it for a minute and then started looking at each other, Allen's and Lenalee's gaze finally resting on Lavi. When he noticed it, he raised his hands and asked in a small panic: "Hey, why is everyone looking at me? I don't know!"

"You're a Bookman." Lenalee stated, relieved that they didn't ask her because she was Komui's sister. Allen nodded.

"I'm a Bookman apprentice! I'm not omniscient! But Panda-jiji might..." the rest of his sentence was cut shut when a small, old man drop-kicked Lavi in the back of the head, shouting "DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

He then turned to Timothy, like nothing had happened and ignoring Lavi, who was rubbing the back of his head in pain. Allen rested his head in the palm of his hands while the old man started talking. "My name is Bookman. Myself and those like me travel the world to record its true history. We have been recording this war since it began and SHOULD be aware of those who participate and aren't being hidden." Here, Bookman paused and glared at Lavi, who shuddered. "To answer your question, if you include the four Generals, the strongest exorcists, you would be the 29th exorcist in the Orders ranks. The number of Finders stationed at Headquarters is currently 427, the branch offices..."

Here, Lavi stepped in. "Gramps, you're boring us all into comas. Let us enjoy ourselves here and I'll listen to these facts later." Bookman didn't seem to happy, but he noticed that everyone was doing something else instead of listening, and nodded.

"Very well, then you will hear this later, Lavi." He said as he walked off. "Should I be unable to avoid it." Lavi muttered under his breath. Timothy howled with laughter.

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In the cellars, things were not quite as laid-back. Komui was having a discussion with Levrier, who seemed in an awfully good mood. And as everyone could tell you, if Levrier was happy, someone would soon be very, very sad. Levrier grinned as he, backed by a group of thirty people, explained to Komui what they had achieved.

"As I was saying, we have finally managed to control the arc. We can create basic rooms, we can find our way in it without a guide and we can use and control the portals, although we require a signal to the destination point. We still can't move the arc from headquarters, but we're optimistic that that will soon be achieved as well. But what I'm most proud of, we managed to put a lock on Allen Walker. He can no longer use the gates of the arc. The room of the 14th has been shut and cannot be opened without our permission, or with our permission for that matter, since there is no way to open that door. We use the control system the Earl had used, with great success I might add. All in all Allen Walker has been completely shut of from the arc."

'So that's why Allen couldn't summon the gates to transport them back. And knowing Levrier the number of exorcists going through those gates is going to be near zero.' Komui was smart enough to keep his thoughts to himself, and instead asked "Isn't that going a little too far? Allen Walker has proven himself loyal on countless occasions and I was informed that your lock is practically undoing the advantages we achieved by gaining the arc."

Levrier ignored the second part of his complain and asked: "By the way, where is Allen Walker?"

Komui gritted his teeth as he replied "At the welcome party for Timothy, our new exorcist."

Levrier smiled. "Then I hope he enjoys it, for it will be the last."

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Allen was not enjoying himself at all. He felt miserable and had a splitting headache. Lenalee seemed to sense something was wrong. "Allen, are you alright? You look horrible."

"I'm fine" he lied. But Lavi just snorted.

"You're far from fine, Allen. You whimper every time someone touches you and gasp when you move. And I happen to know you used the absence of the head nurse to leave the infirmary. She would have strapped you to the bed for at least a week if she'd seen you."

Allen couldn't deny that it was all true. Well he could, but no one would believe him, so why bother. At that moment Timothy said in shock "Allen, you're bleeding." a fine line of blood ran down from his forehead, split into two when it reached his nose and reunited on his chin.

"Great, another wound must've reopened again. No big deal." he saw how the others were looking at him and added "Okay, so I'm not fine. I think I should let the night end here and get some rest." Everyone, including Timothy, nodded. "Well, see ya soon."

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"What do you mean, the last party? Are you forbidding us to throw parties?" Komui questioned.

Levrier was still smiling. "As a matter of fact, yes. Ever since General Cross was brought back to the Order, the expenses have gone through the roof. Central ordered that costs should be reduced. The four Generals are in a meeting about that right now, in case you'd like to know. But that's not what I meant."

Komui was getting a really bad feeling and so were Miranda and Crowry, who had just arrived and were standing on a balcony two floors above the discussion. They had both been to timid to alert people, especially Levrier, to their presence.

"What I meant that now that we have near-exclusive control of the arc..."

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Allen was in the bathroom, avoiding to look into the mirror and spotting his personal phantom. He really didn't feel good and he wondered what had caused the bleeding, because looking back, he didn't remember getting any wounds there.

"_**It's time."**_ A voice suddenly rang out of nowhere. Allen spun around, but he was alone. He slowly turned and looked into the mirror. There stood the figure, that smile still etched into its face.

"What do you mean?!" he nearly shouted at the mirror. Instead of answering, the Shadow raised a finger and pointed at its forehead. Getting a really bad feeling, Allen lifted his hair so that his forehead was in full view. His face lost the little color it still had. He managed to gasp a single word with what seemed like his last breath. "Shit..."

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"...Allen Walker is no longer irreplaceable, and so considering the immense danger he represents, Central has decided..." Levrier made a dramatic break during which Komui's face had become as pale as his hat and continued: "...that before Allen Walker is overwhelmed by his inner Noah, he is to be immediately executed." Komui nearly collapsed while Miranda and Crowry exchanged looks of infinite horror. But Levrier wasn't done yet. "These gentlemen here are CROW's best men and will make sure the matter is resolved by daybreak at most."

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He smashed the mirror, but that only made it worse, bbecause now he saw it in the hundreds of shards. Right there, on the center his forehead, was a wound resembling a four-pointed star. He had seen it many times before. The mark of the Noah.

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And that's the 3rd chapter. Tell me what you think about it. And concerning the marking lines, I'm trying to see what works best, so please bear with it. You might have noticed I mentioned Cross a few times. I know that he's missing at this point in the story and that will be really important later on, but I don't see the point, so in my story, he never vanished. In fact I have some things I want to use him for, so him missing or dead would be a problem.

I think I've answered addenza's question, but just in case: His wounds were that bad, he just used the fact that the head nurse wasn't there to force his way out. So he used the lack of authority to 'legally' escape.

Also, I've upped the number of exorcists a bit (when I checked they said something around 22, including the deceased) to add some new faces, so if you want, send me a character (profile would be nice (Appearance, personality, a bit of background (optional) and Innocence). I can't guarantee I'll use them, but I'll try). If not, I might fill them over time or just leave them as background information.

While I enjoy writing this, I noticed that if people start writing longer chapters, people start to expect longer chapters. So my chapter length for now would be between 1500 and 2000 words (next chapter MIGHT be a little longer. I was looking forward to writing the next chapter since I started this, though I can only hope it'll be as good as I want it to be).School is trying to kill me with exams, so I might not be able to update 'till the weekend, but I hope to get it done by Friday, maximum. Again, I value everyones opinions, they show people actually read what I write, even critics are fine. Flames will be deleted (as soon as I find out how), but everything else is okay.

Please Review


	4. The great escape

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I still don't own DGM and I probably never will.

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Crowry prayed that his ears had failed him. Levrier couldn't have just said that Central had ordered Allen's execution. But one look at his partner made it clear she had heard the same thing he had. Crowry knew he had to do something, but if he ran now, CROW would notice him and probably capture him before he was anywhere near Allen. Lavi had told him about them and he knew they were no pushovers. How they had managed to remain unnoticed up 'till now was beyond him, it was a miracle. It would need another miracle to save Allen, and it didn't look like he would get one. Miranda was terrified. They wanted to kill Allen, and she didn't know how she could keep that from happening. There had to be something she could do to keep him safe!

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"I'm still worried about Allen, he really didn't look healthy." Lenalee told Lavi. The red-haired boy sighed and stated:

"He'll be fine, Lenalee, he just needs some rest. I swear, you act like your his mother sometimes. He can take care of himself. We'll probably see him right here tomorrow, eating the order out of house and home." Lenalee smiled, but she still looked worried. Then she seemed to have made a decision.

"I'm gonna go check on him, he might have collapsed somewhere!" and with that, she was gone. Lavi shook his head while Timothy wondered if she was Allen's girlfriend. 'Allen must be the luckiest and happiest man on earth. Then he noticed Lavi was leaving as well.

"Hey, where are you going, Lavi?" Lavi didn't turn around. "I'm taking a walk, though if panda-jiji finds me, I'll get that promised earful, so see you tomorrow."

Timothy shrugged and turned his attention to Jerry, who was resupplying the buffet.

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"Well then CROW, You have been given your orders, I expect success. Now go." Levrier coldly interrupted the silence around him. The men bowed and started to scatter.

Miranda's thoughts were spinning around. She couldn't let that happen, but what could she do? 'There must be something I can do! Allen was the first person that ever thanked me, thanks to him I made many new friends, I must do something. I have to stop them, I have to stop them, I have to to stop them, I HAVE TO STOP THEM!' Suddenly her Innocence activated, the disk sliding to her wrist, the rings started to turn, and suddenly there were small, slow moving orbs glowing an inch above the disk. Then the rings in her Innocence stopped moving and so did the 32 orbs. Crowry was the first to realize that Komui, Levrier and the CROWs weren't moving either, in fact, one of them was hanging a few feet above the ground, defying gravity.

"Miranda," he told her "you froze them in time. They probably won't even notice something has happened." He saw that Miranda was exhausted. After the constant Akuma attacks on their way back, she probably wouldn't be able to keep them like that very long. He wasn't in great shape either, but he hoped he would last long enough. He carried Miranda off of the balcony back into the passage they came from, leaned her on the wall and turned his attention to the pressing issue: What now?

"Okay Miranda, you stay here and buy as much time as you can, while I get Allen away from here." he saw Miranda staring at him, knowing they couldn't get that done alone. "Or at least I'll inform Lenalee or Lavi, they'll manage." She nodded.

"Hurry, I don't think I can hold them very long!" When he heard that, he started an Innocence-boosted sprint, praying to make it in time.

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Lenalee was shocked. Even though she had said it to Lavi, she hadn't expected to find Allen collapsed on the floor, only a few feet away from his room, squirming in agony.

"Allen, can you hear me? It's me, Lenalee, are you all right?" That was a stupid question and she knew it, but it just slipped out. "You look like your in pain." As dumb as that statement was, it apparently served its purpose. Allen's gaze cleared and he gave her a look that said: _Ya think? What gave it away, genius?_ A second later he actually spoke, though the pain seemed to have disabled his manners.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious. A little help here, I'm in serious pain, so if you don't min..." the rest of his sentence was interrupted by another wave of agony.

"Don't worry Allen, I'll get you to the infirmary right away." Lenalee was about to grab Allen when another wave of pain caused him to pull his head back, revealing the mark on his forehead. She gasped. "Allen, your head, that mark... I'll bring you to Nii-san, he'll know how to help you." Lenalee managed to pull him on her back. At that moment, Lavi slid around a corner, visibly out of breath.

"The right idea, Lenalee, but the wrong destination. We have to get him out of here, or he'll be killed for sure." Lavi saw Allen's mark and his eyes widened. "Now we really have to get him out of here. Come on, I'll explain on the way." Lenalee paled, but she nodded and followed Lavi

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_5 minutes earlier_

Lavi was walking through the Black Order, devising a plot to escape Bookman's speech about the reserves of the Order and the Earl, when something came out of a corridor and crashed into him. Hard. When he finally figured out where up and down were, he saw that he had just collided with Crowry.

"Yo Kuro-chan, what's the rush? You look terrible, maybe you should also take a rest." Crowry looked at him and gave a relieved sigh.

"Thank god, it's you Lavi. You have to get Allen away from here as quick as possible, Levrier brought CROW's best men to kill him." Lavi gasped, but quickly got dead serious. "Arystar Crowry, tell me what happened." If there was any further proof needed that Lavi didn't take it as a joke, it was the fact that he called Crowry by his real name.

When Crowry finished, Lavi analyzed the situation. "Okay, we're gonna do this. You return to Miranda and lay low while this blows over. Then you to pretend you just arrived. I'll get Allen out of here, Lenalee should be with him. Lenalee can dump him somewhere safe and return before anyone notices she's missing. Oh, and let's keep Miranda's new trick a secret, or Levrier might add 2 and 2 and get a result that will bring us all in helluva lot of trouble." Crowry thought about it, then he agreed. That was so crazy, it just might work.

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Cross yawned. The meeting had been long and boring, mostly telling him to stop ordering expensive wine and cigars. His reply had been something along the lines of 'I'll stop ordering what I need to make my stay here bearable when hell freezes over.' Now he was looking at one of the orders plazas from a balcony. He turned to leave when he noticed that Winters Zokalo had stepped onto the balcony as well, even worse, without his mask. Cross was almost at the exit, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. At first glance he saw a red-haired boy looking vaguely familiar and Lenalee, apparently carrying his stupid apprentice on her back. His second glance spotted the mark on Allen' forehead and he thought 'I'm impressed with the boy's willpower, this should have happened over a week ago. If he wasn't hurt, he probably could have suppressed it even longer. But now it's too late.' His third glance showed him that Zokalo had noticed everything he had, and a moment before the trio vanished in a path heading to an exit, the bloodthirsty general had leaped over the balcony.

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"Crap!"Lavi had spotted the man falling with a mad smile on his face just before they entered what they had hoped was a way to escape. He had also seen Cross, but right now, they had bigger worries. "We have company." He increased his speed to reach Lenalee. "Behind that corner the road forks. I go right to confuse him, you head left to the exit." When he noticed Lenalee looked upset, he continued "General Zokalo is bloodthirsty, but not stupid. He can't kill me or you, but Allen will be counted as a Noah and is marked for death anyway." She nodded as they passed the corner and they split up.

"I hope Lavi is alright.", Lenalee thought as she ran into the left path... and straight into Cross Marian. Lenalee was in a panic. She could hear Zokalo behind her, and her only escape was blocked by Cross. Even under normal circumstances Lenalee wouldn't have been able to beat one of the Generals with their offensive Innocence, let alone two. But in this narrow passage she wouldn't even be able to dodge attacks, and she knew it. Her only chance was that Cross wouldn't attack a girl like her, but she had already lost too much time to be able to outrun the other General who would without a doubt cut her down if he needed to. Lenalee felt tears in her eyes, when Cross suddenly spoke.

"Innocence activate. Grave of Maria, Magdala Curtain." The coffin appeared, Maria rose and began to sing. Not even five seconds later Zokalo reached the fork and looked straight at them. He seemed confused, but then Lavi made some noise and Zokalo spun around and ran into the right path. Lenalee was eternally grateful for his actions, when Cross dropped a stash of money and a replacement for Lenalee's blood soaked clothes he had just gotten from the laundry's stash (guess why he knew her sizes) and walked into the path Zokalo had just taken like Lenalee was invisible. She picked up the money and ran, Allen still on his shoulders.

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Cross smiled to himself. Lenalee would find a way to get Allen to safety. Zokalo wouldn't be a problem, because he had the very useful habit to forget failures, especially his own. Not that he had many, but at the time the interrogations would start, Zokalo would have forgotten Allen existed. Now he only had to make sure that Zokalo didn't let his bad mood out on the other boy. Not that he would have cared, but it might make Lenalee cry, and something ending with crying ladies was unacceptable. If he could only remember where he'd seen the red-head before. Oh well, it probably wasn't important anyway.

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Lenalee wasn't sure if she was having good or bad luck, so much happened happened in so little time, but there, at the end of her T-shaped passage right in front of her, was the emergency exit, a man-sized hole in the wall blocked by three inches of steel. She knew that the steel slided into the wall above, but without the know-how or inhuman strength, it was impassable. There also were a few charms, but they where only there to stop Akuma from using the gates, so Lenalee wasn't too worried. Now if she could only reach and open it without being spotted... And then she was certain that this would be the worst day of her life.

Lady Fortune was a b*tch. Lenalee hadn't been ten feet away from the exit when Klaud Nine and Froi Tiedoll had walk right in front of the exit. She knew they hadn't tried to ambush her, because they looked just as surprised as she was. It had been a coincident. Everything was lost because of a coincident. Allen would die because of a stupid little coincident! It was not fair. Froi spoke.

"Good evening, Lenalee, why are you still up? You should be in bed. And why are you carrying Allen Walk..." his smile froze. Klaud's eyes widened as they both saw the mark. Allen, who had tried to remain still even in his pain and sometimes even lost consciousness, had noticed both the exit and the invincible army that guarded it. He was too weakened to move or even speak, so all he could do was hope that Lenalee wouldn't get punished and his end would be swift, and silently curse whatever being it was that had caused this situation. Klaud looked at her fellow General.

"What are we going to do with them now?"

"I don't know," Froi replied "I'll need some time to think about it."

Lenalee flinched. Time was the one thing they didn't have right now.

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Lenalee had no idea how right she was, because at the second most bottom floor, Miranda collapsed into Crowry's arms unconscious, her Innocence deactivated and the CROWs took flight to hunt down their prey. Komui, who was the only one who had noticed Miranda and Crowry, saw they vanished, deduced what had happened and silently prayed the they had been able to buy enough time. He made a shocked face and ran off without another word to Levrier. The man just smiled, because this shocked reaction was exactly what he had expected from Komui. Everything went according to plan and on schedule. If he only knew. But even though he tried, Malcom C. Levrier would never find out what really happened that night.

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The situation was getting dire. Lenalee knew that the danger of the assassins unfreezing and spotting them was growing with each passing second, but there was nothing she could do.

Klaud was a gentle and kind woman, but Tiedoll was as predictable as a feather in a twister. After what seemed like hours to Lenalee, Tiedoll spoke. But to Klaud, not to him.

"Klaud, if I remember correctly, you said that one of Lau Shimin's specialties was strength, am I right?" Klaud seemed confused, but nodded. "Would you be willing to prove that?" he further inquired. Klaud didn't look happy, but she nodded again. "Great," Tiedoll cheered "then as a test he'll... Hmm." he looked around. Lenalee was preparing for a fight. If they took Allen, it wouldn't be without a fight. "Ah, I know." He smiled. "He'll lift that." he said, pointing at the steel plate barricading the exit. Lenalee blinked. Was he serious? Klaud seemed equally confused, but then she smiled.

"Activate. Lau Shimin, you know what to do." And indeed, the white ape-beast lifted the plate and the way was clear. "How long until you're convinced?" Klaud asked.

"Oh, as long as it takes." he smiled. Lenalee couldn't believe her luck and slipped past Lau Shimin and through the exit. Allen thought 'I owe them my life', then everything turned black. The last thing Lenalee heard was Tiedoll saying "Alright, I'm convinced." The plate dropped and Lenalee started to run.

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Lau Shimin had just turned back into a small monkey on Klaud's shoulder, as a member of CROW spotted them. He landed before them. "Good evening General Tiedoll, General Nine. Pardon my question, but have you seen anything suspicious around here?"

"Yes." The two Generals answered.

"Really? What?" The man seemed stressed. Allen Walker had neither been at the party nor his room. To make matters worse, no one was sober enough to remember when he left. The catastrophe came when somehow, the man suspected someone had talked, the news of the order to have Allen Walker executed had leaked and the entire Order knew it. If the boy had heard it, which was almost certain, he'd be on the run and hiding, which was why they were ordered to search the entire perimeter. The boy was Crosses apprentice and if he was anything like his master, they could search for weeks without finding him. The captured Golem didn't help either, because it would locate Cross, not Walker. Also, some sadist had replaced the usual eye with a sharp-fanged and hidden mouth. Three members were bitten, one was bleeding badly and another had even lost two fingers to that deathtrap. To make matters worse a gorilla known as the head nurse had arrived and dragged all three to the infirmary and was now set on not letting any of them leaving till morning. The morning of next Friday to be exact. Even if the boy would be caught and exterminated, and the chances of that happening were getting slimmer by the minute, this operation would leave a major dent in their reputation.

The Generals grinned. "You."While they did have a point, that was not what he was hoping for.

"I meant was there someone here?"

"Yes."Did they see Allen Walker? After the initial inability to locate him, they had decided to keep an eye on the exits. Was this a clue?

"Really, who?"

"We." He couldn't believe he had fallen for the same trick twice. If this got out, their reputation wouldn't be dented, it would be crushed beyond repair.

"Never mind. Thank you for your cooperation." with that, he left.

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Lenalee had the feeling she had forgot something important, while she ran past the trees towards the cliff. Then she remembered. Kanda liked to train and meditate here. She remembered because he was standing in front of her.

Kanda stared at Allen's forehead. This couldn't be true. The Moyashi was a Noah? This was too good to be true. He could cut him down and nobody could give him an earful about it. Goodbye and good riddance, as they say. He grinned and was about to draw Mugen when he saw Lenalee's face. She was crying.

Lenalee cried. To have grasp at freedom just to have it slip between her fingers twice in one night was to much. What had she done to deserve this? Kanda seemed to hesitate, a fierce battle raging in his head. Then slowly, almost begrudgingly, he sheathed Mugen and walked passed her.

"Che, what you two do here in the woods is none of my business. Don't involve me in it."

Lenalee could have kissed him, but she had more important things to do. She jumped of the cliff, held Allen tightly, muttered "Innocence activate. Onkyou no Tougi: Otokase." and headed off with sonic speed.

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It didn't take her five minutes to find a safe town fifty miles away from the Order. She also found a nice little inn owned by an elder couple. They agreed to let them in at this late hour and offered to let them stay a few nights. Lenalee dropped Allen in a bed, paid the couple extra for the sheets Allen would inevitably ruin with his blood and his squirming. The couple told her that their son was a doctor and offered to let him take a look at Allen when he'd arrive in the morning, free of charge. Lenalee thanked them, changed into the clean spare clothes Cross had gotten her and left. She was about to return when she saw an old horse-wagon filled with sacs. She asked the driver what they contained, and when she heard it was coffee, she bought two of the sacs before returning to the Order.

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In the meantime, the old couples son arrived, and when he heard there was a wounded boy upstairs, he immediately went to check on him. He replaced the bled-through bandages with new ones and disinfected the wounds. He noticed that there also seemed to be a wound on his head, so he brushed the white hair aside... and froze. He didn't believe his eyes.

"I must inform the Earl immediately." he muttered and went downstairs to make a call.

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The Noah were at dinner when the Earl stepped in. Everyone looked at him. Tyki, Cyril and Lulubelle with polite interest, the twins with upset faces and Road visibly bored. She wanted to play with Allen and get rid of all that homework. The Earl spoke.

"Well my children, I've just got a call that one of my Level 3s found a Noah in the awakening process. Unfortunately, he's too close to the Order to wait for. One of you will have to bring him."

"Tyki volunteers." Road immediately shouted. Everyone else seemed to agree.

"All right, I'll do it. But I'm taking a gate." Tyki stated.

"Very well, but only to get there. As I said before, it's too close to the Order. Once you have him, you'll have to take a train to..."

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Lenalee was greeted rather coldly when she entered. Standing in front of her was Levrier, looking like he had just eaten five pounds of lemons.

"Where were you and what were you doing there?" He barked at her. Lenalee had gone through too much to be intimidated for the rest of the week.

"And a good morning to you as well." Levrier seemed to loose his cool.

"Answer the question." But before Lenalee had a chance to come up with an excuse, Johnny had spotted her.

"Hey Lenalee, you're back, and you've got the coffee." this was followed by a hip-hip-hooray from the entire science division.

Levrier seemed unable to decide if he should explode with anger or stare in shock. "You've sent an exorcist to get _coffee?!_" Johnny nodded with a grin. Levrier seemed to give up and walked away, foaming with rage.

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Tyki had arrived without a problem and had to watch the gate, and with it the chance for a quick and easy way home, vanish. He light a cigarette to calm down and followed the Akuma to the new Noah's room. "Okay!" He called "Hello, I'll soon be your new brother and I'm here to take you..." He froze mid-sentence. He stared. The cigarette fell to the floor. He didn't care. He rubbed his eyes and pinched himself. The picture didn't change.

"Cheating Boy A?" he asked.

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And that's it. Wow, almost twice as long as the former chapters. Well, I promised a longer chapter and here it is.

What I forgot last time: to Starforce119: About Timothy's Innocence, I probably had the translation and you the original name. But Tsukikami sounds much better, so thank you.

It took me pretty long to get this scene how it is and I think it came out okay. I'm currently in a writing fever, so who knows, next chapter might be done tomorrow, maybe Friday. But don't get used to daily upgrades, I won't be able to keep this up forever. Again, I value opinions and ideas from everyone, so if you feel like it, send me ideas for exorcists (I have a few myself, but more is always good (see author's notes of chapter 3)), or Noah (I just noticed, there are seven empty seats, so help me fill them if you want (Name, appearance, background(again optional), Noah of, abilities would be nice). Also, any ideas for Cyril Kamelot's power?). If not, then tough luck for me, oh well. Again, everything but flames is welcome.

Please Review


	5. The aftermath

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I still don't own DGM

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Tyki couldn't believe it. The same boy who had rammed a sword through him was laying right before him. With a stigmata clearly visible on his forehead. Well this was ironic. Tyki felt like laughing out loud. Allen Walker would be his new brother, fighting against his former allies. Wait, that last part wasn't very likely, and to tell the truth, Tyki would be disappointed with him if that would happen. He had aways liked the boy, ever since they met. He and his friends had tricked one of Allen's friends in a game of poker and cheated him out of everything. In return, he had stripped them to their underwear while beating them in their own game. 'Well, looks like I'll get my rematch after all.' And then he had an even more wonderful thought: 'Wait a minute, if I bring Allen back to the arc, he'll keep Road of my back.'

"Well then Allen, lets go to your new home."

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Meanwhile, Levrier was having a fit. He could barely suppress the urge to bash on the wall of the plaza he was standing in.'This was supposed to be quick and simple, how did it turn out into such a disaster?' Then he heard a shy voice. "Excuse me, but we returned with the Innocence." Levrier spun around and faced Miranda and Crowry.

"Yes, yes, bring it to Hevlaska, she'll..." Then something came to him. "When did you arrive?"

They shrugged, then Crowry, the calmer one of the two, answered. "I'm not sure, five minutes ago."

"Are there any witnesses for that?" Levrier had almost driven them into a corner, when someone ruined his small victory.

"I saw them." When they turned, Kanda was standing there. Levrier knew Kanda wasn't one to stick up for others, but he wouldn't give up yet.

"Very well, we'll ask the gatekeeper." he said and signaled them to follow him.

"Che, your wasting my time." Kanda muttered, but he knew he had to follow them anyway.

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Tyki didn't like to get blood on him, so he carried Allen in the way that required the least amount of contact. Unfortunately, that happened to be bridal-style. Even the Level 3 had to smirk.

"And what's so funny?" He asked, completely aware of how ridiculous they looked. The Akuma made a straight face.

"Nothing, Master Tyki, nothing at all. What would you like me to do?" Tyki thought about it.

"I think it would be best if you continued to act like nothing was wrong. If someone asks about the boy, you'll say that you brought him to a hospital because his wounds were more serious than you first thought." He then stated and turned to leave, while the Akuma simply bowed. At that moment Allen's body was shaken by another wave of pain and Tyki saw a cramped fist flying towards his face. 'I'd better phase through that.' he thought, but then he realized 'Wait a minute, that's his left arm! Oh shit.' Allen's arm hit Tyki right in the jaw. "I should carry him in a way that makes his left arm point away from me." he muttered while changing his grip.

Fortunately for Tyki's pride, the Akuma hadn't noticed what had happened and closed the door. "John, was there someone here?" his 'mother' asked. He nodded.

"Yes, the boy was injured worse than I thought so I called someone to bring him to the hospital. Good night, mother." While he left, the old couple looked at each other.

"He's such a good boy, but ever since his brother died, he hasn't been the same."

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Levrier was getting nervous. If he didn't find the ones responsible, or at least an adequate scapegoat, Central might hold him responsible for what was already nicknamed 'The Walker-Incident', and that could ruin him. He was desperate to keep that from happening, not that he would show it. He always kept his poker-face, but he knew that his mask was getting cracks. He turned his attention to the Gatekeeper. "The exorcists Miranda Lotto and Arystar Crowry claim to have arrived ten minutes ago. Is that correct?"

"No."The gatekeeper answered. Levrier had a wolfish grin on his face. If they'd lied about that, who knows what else they were hiding. "When did they arrive?"

"They arrived..." the gatekeeper was about to say they had arrived almost 45 minutes ago, when he noticed Kanda's expression. He seemed extremely annoyed and was glaring daggers at him and, since he was standing behind Levrier, he even had pulled Mugen halfway out of its sheath. Gatekeeper immediately understood the warning: _Say the truth and I'll cut you to ribbons!_ "...precisely twelve minutes and fifty-three seconds ago." Levrier's face fell. Mugen slid back into the sheath silently and unnoticed.

"Are you going to charge us for the crime of not being a stopwatch?" Crowry asked, relieved of how smoothly everything worked against Levrier. Miranda chose a different approach to clip the man's ego.

"Um, what's going on here? I mean, is all this really necessary?" Levrier didn't answer. He seemed to break down, because he almost ran back into the Order, without answering any of their questions. Now his priorities were to find a way to duck the blame, and the only way to do that was to dump it on someone else.

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Tyki had reached the train station and, thanks to a few Akuma in the right places, was on a train going south. It would only take fifteen more minutes to reach the point the Earl had chosen 'safe enough for a gate'. He couldn't wait, though keeping the others from killing Allen on sight would be a little tricky. He figured that Road would be on his side, and maybe the twins. They wanted Allen to take over Crosses debt, after all. Allen himself was not doing very good. Practically every wound on his body had started to bleed and the waves of sheer agony were coming in much more frequently. His own transformation had been similar, but thanks to the heightened pulse Allen was in danger of dying of blood loss. Tyki had tried everything he could to calm Allen, but he wasn't succeeding. When they finally reached their destination, Tyki grabbed Allen and ran to gate as fast as he could, hoping to make it in time.

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Levrier was beginning to think there was a conspiracy going on against him. Nobody had seen Allen, and the Generals seemed way too relaxed for the situation, especially Cross. The man had welcomed him with a smug grin, a glass of wine in one hand and a cigar in the other. He said that he didn't see anybody, that he didn't know anything and that Levrier should piss of because his sheer presence turned wine to vinegar, and Cross wanted to spare this three-hundred year old wine that fate. Levrier gasped.

"Three-_hundred_ years old?! You were ordered to reduce your money-wasting lifestyle." Instead of answering Cross raised the cigar to his lips and let the end glow in a deep red. Levrier saw the cigar-box, and his eyes widened. "Are those..." He couldn't finish the sentence but Cross grinned.

"Cuba's finest. Cost a fortune." he stated while watching Levrier turn red with anger.

"I should have you court-marshaled for that." Crosses grin widened.

"I ignore advice and pleas, but I do my job and I do it right, that's more than you can say for yourself." Levrier paled, but Cross continued "The way I see it, you've been given an order which you not only didn't fulfill, but with your failure you've pulled the name of one of Centrals best units through the dumpster. CROW won't be able to show its face for a while without being mocked, hell, they might destroy a few Akuma just because even those machines will be to busy laughing at them to fight and it's All. Your. Fault. And now for the second time, piss of!" he finished, and Levrier, who had become as pale as a ghost, left the room in what looked to be a panicked escape. Cross smiled. Victory was sweet, especially when seasoned with revenge for all the shit he had to take from Levrier.

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When Tyki entered the new arc, Road was waiting for him. "Tyki, what are you carrying?"

"Your Christmas and birthday presents for the next five years." Tyki replied while putting Allen on a sofa. 'Great, I'm being sold. And to Road of all people! What have I done to deserve this?' Allen wondered. Then Road recognized him.

"Allen! Okay Tyki, it's a deal." Tyki sighed.

"I was kidding, Road, he's our new sibling. I didn't believe it myself at first, but he has the stigmata. And the Awakening pain. He'll probably lose consciousness soon." Road seemed happier then Allen ever recalled seeing her.

"So he'll stay here? As in forever?"

"If we can convince the others not to kill him right now. Maybe you should go get them. And one of the Skull, I don't know how to stop the bleeding." Road nodded and was gone. Shortly after that, the twins arrived.

"So where's our new brother, we want to see..." Then they recognized Allen and shouted "AH, CROSSES APRENTICE! PAY THOSE DEBTS!"

Allen gathered his strength and replied "No chance in hell!", before another wave of pain nearly brought him to the floor. Lulubelle entered and froze.

"That's Allen Walker."

"Yes, we know." Tyki answered.

"Kill him."

Road seemed horrified. "What? Why?"

"He destroyed Master's precious egg, therefore derailing almost all of his plans." Lulubelle stated.

Road immediately defended Allen. "He was an exorcist at the time. It was his job."

"He destroyed Mimi."

"What? That Akuma that you used as a maid? You never really cared for her that much, anyway. I agree with Road. He was an exorcist, it was his job." Tyki stated, seemingly getting worried about Allen's safety. Road nodded.

"He still destroyed Mimi." Lulubelle stated with the same emotionless voice as before. Allen noticed that he couldn't see anything clearly. And was it getting darker?

"Why are you so upset about that?" Tyki asked.

"I hate doing my own nails."

"You're ability is form, you're nails have the shape, length and color you want them to.", Tyki stated.

"That's not the point." Lulubelle stated.

"Then what is, for crying out loud?" Now Tyki sounded desperate.

Before Lulubelle had a chance to answer, the Earl entered the room. The last thing Allen heard was his voice, saying "Well, this is interesting." Allen knew he'd wake up a Noah... or not at all.

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"I say we let him live, for now" The Earl said, ending all discussions. Tyki looked relieved, Road looked to be bursting with anticipation, the twins seemed to be plotting tricks to play on Allen and Lulubelle's thoughts were anybodies guess.

Road looked at Allen's arm. "What's gonna happen with this?" The Earl seemed intrigued.

"I don't know. Maybe it'll change with him, maybe it'll just crumble. There never was a Noah with Innocence before."

Cyril had entered the room with a Skull and asked "So, what part of Noah is the boy?"

"I'm not sure yet," the Earl replied "but I have an idea. And if I'm right, he's going to be a troublemaker. Almost everyone of that particular section of Noah was a troublemaker with great power."

"So, what's wrong with him?" Tyki decided to change topics before the discussion if it wasn't safer to kill Allen could resurface.

To everyones surprise, it was the Skull that answered. "He was hit by the bullets of a Level 4 we had handpicked for him. Those bullets had the special property to obstruct the healing process should the virus be neutralized. Also, any attempt to heal the wounds with Innocence would only deepen the wounds. Since the entire bodies of parasitic-type Innocence users are filled with their Innocence, even a scratch would eventually be fatal. I believe the awakening of his Noah saved his life, because the energy Noah emit cancels the healing obstructions. I will heal him now."

Road spoke first. "So all we can do is wait and watch?" Tyki nodded.

"There's nothing else we can do."

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Allen was back at the lake in his dreams, but this time, the mirror phantom was there with him. "I won't let you take control of my body."

The shadow began to talk.

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And chapter 5 is done. Lately I'm pulling all-nighters to get these done. It's almost 1:00 AM and there's school tomorrow. Man, I need a priority-check. Anyway if the next chapter isn't done by tomorrow, it might take a while, because next week is exam-week for me. I might be able to get enough time here and there to finish it at the weekend, but it's not likely.

Tell me what you think about my story, even a 'well done' can give authors a better feeling. Personally, I don't think this is the best chapter I ever wrote. Not that I think it's bad or anything, but in my case, I get ideas for certain scenes and work on them 'till I think they're great, then I try to connect them to a story that's not boring or dull in between the big scenes. This is one of those bridges, so tell me if I'm doing okay or need more practice.

I'll probably repeat my offer/request for characters every chapter, or at least until a few people give ideas. Not that that I desperately need them or something, but it might make the bridges better and give more inspiration for bigger (and longer) scenes. By the way, how did you like the escape?

Again, everything but flames is welcome.

Please Review


	6. In the new Arc

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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Flashback

_Allen was back at the lake in his dreams, but this time, the mirror phantom was there with him. "I won't let you take control of my body."_

_The shadow began to talk._

End of Flashback

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"_**Calm down, Allen Walker. I have no intention of taking your body or erasing your existence, nor do I have the ability to do so."**_ Allen wasn't convinced.

"Then why have you brought me here?" The 14th nodded, he'd expected the question.

"_**First of all, I brought you here so you would not feel the enormous pain that will soon reach you're body. All awakenings are extremely painful, but yours is going to be harder than anyone else's."**_ the Noah replied. _**"You probably can't tell, but the, lets call it noahfication, has almost reached your left arm and your heart. And not even I am sure what will happen next."**_

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Tyki and Road were now the only ones left at Allen's side, mostly because they were the ones who worried most about him. The stigmata had turned to its usual black color and the gray skin tone of the Noah had spread from it, already covering his head and neck, coloring his hair black in the process and slightly altering the shape of Allen's scar, and was now crawling towards his shoulders and chest. Tyki bit his lip.

"Tyki, what's wrong, you look worried." Road asked. Tyki sighed.

"You're too perceptive for your own good." he muttered. "I'm worried about what will happen should his Innocence reject him." Road looked confused.

"But wouldn't that just make his arm fall off?" Tyki shook his head.

"That could happen, but it doesn't have to. I heard Allen's Innocence has activated and attacked on its own before, even when he was unconscious. And with those claws..." Road was shocked.

"You mean his own arm could try to kill him? What do we do?"

"We'll destroy it if that happens." There was steel in Tyki's voice. "We'll also destroy it if there's any kind of rejection, before it can damage Allen's body. I heard Innocence rejection can kill a Noah, in fact, I think it was a Noah of desire who taught us that lesson around 400 years ago. They're always to greedy for their own good. "

Road paled. "Tyki, isn't there some Innocence in his heart? If there really is a rejection..." Tyki cursed himself. How could he have forgotten? He was the one who caused that hole in the boy's heart in the first place. They both knew that if there was a rejection, and it was likely there'd be one, Allen would die in their arms, and there would be nothing they could do to save him. All they could do was hope and wish for a miracle. Allen's body started to twitch like it was under electricity as his chest turned gray.

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"_**While we wait for your Innocence to decide your fate, I will have to show you the memories of Noah, or maybe I should say the memories of mankind." **_The 14th said and walked to the lake. Allen followed him. The 14th put his hand in the water and the surface changed.

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Allen saw a mountain village getting buried in an avalanche. He saw a man staggering through a desert and collapsing. He saw a small child, shaking the corpse of his dead mother. He saw thousands of people dying, large black bumps all over their bodies. He saw a woman being ripped to shreds by a group of lions. He saw houses collapsing, burying the people in them alive. He saw a ship crashing in a riff the, the entire crew drowning. He saw a bearded man walking through a snowstorm, his hands, feet and nose turned black by the cold. He saw a group of people trapped in a burning building with no way out. He saw a volcano erupting, burying a city in lava. He saw a tornado dragging an infant into the air, before leaving the broken body behind after dropping it from more than a hundred feet hight. He saw masses of starving people. He saw a man losing his footing and falling into a cliff.

"STOP IT!" Allen shouted, somehow unable to look away from the gruesome pictures. The 14th sadly shook his head.

"_**I can't. It's impossible to interrupt."**_ And it didn't stop. It got _worse_.

He saw countless women getting burned alive on stakes. He saw a soldier, dying in a pitch while holding a picture of his family. He saw a nation of tanned people falling like flies to the fire of a small army of armored men holding guns, their eyes filled with greed and the Spanish flag flowing in the wind. He saw black people being mistreated and whipped while forced to work on fields. He saw beaten children climbing through mountain shafts to mine coal. He saw torture chamber's and how every instrument there was used on prisoners. He saw the once proud population of China rotting in opium dens. He saw Indians being driven out of their homes and into small reservoirs. He saw a group of men raping a woman and killing her. He saw a hooded figure running through London, then cutting up a woman like he was gutting a fish. He saw rows of people being led to the guillotine and executed. He saw an albino no older than five laying on the ground, others throwing rocks at him. He saw a village attacked by huns and how a running woman was trampled to death by their horses. He saw a pregnant woman being hanged. He saw how a fat merchant cut of a young boy's hand because he had stolen a piece of bread out of hunger. He saw them all suffering and dying, and there was nothing he could do but stand there, watching and crying. He felt so helpless.

After a while the lake became clear, and the pictures of what Allen had realized were the tragedies and sins of mankind ended. Allen silently stood there and cried. _**"You're crying."**_ the 14th stated _**"That's good, you shouldn't take joy in these terrible tragedies. It would appear you're Innocence has decided to spare us, and even I can feel that it has somehow changed. Your awakening is almost complete, you will soon wake up."**_

"And then what? I jump up in joy and serve the Earl?" Allen hissed.

"_**You're not going to be jumping for a while. Even though your transformation is complete, you're too weakened to do anything but lay around for a few days. And then, you should work with the Earl as far as your heart will allow you to go. He won't be expecting much service from you anyway." **_Allen thought about it, then a question came to his mind.

"What about you? What will happen to you once I wake up?" he asked. The 14th smiled widened.

"_**I will remain the phantom in the mirror only you can see, and the voice only you can hear. I'll stay with you."**_ he said.

"As what?" Allen immediately questioned. The shadowy Noah shrugged.

"_**As the angel on your right shoulder and the devil on your left. Think of me as an invisible adviser."**_ he then replied, before adding **_"And now you must wake up. And you should keep my existence a secret, the Earl already has more than enough reasons to kill you."_**

Allen tried to add something, but the lake and his entire view faded to darkness.

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"Tyki, he's waking up!" Road shouted. Tyki, who had slumped on a chair when Allen's transformation had ended without his Innocence acting up or causing any sort of problems. In fact, his arm had changed together with the rest of his body. It was now pitch-black with a snow-white cross on the back of the hand. Tyki rose up and walked up to Allen, his wild thrashing had forced them to give him some space, and smiled.

"How are you feeling, Allen?" Allen, hearing such a stupid question for the second time in short succession, opened his now golden eyes and decided to ignore his manners when he replied "Like crap."

"Allen!" Road had jumped and was now flying towards him. 'Haven't I suffered enough?' he asked himself. Fortunately, Tyki was there and caught her before she'd dropped on Allen like a stone.

"Road, he's exhausted. Give him some rest, maybe he'll soon feel fit enough to play with his new sister. And if I hadn't stopped you and Cyril came in, he would have killed Allen on the spot." Tyki warned her. Road pouted a short while, then she nodded and turned to Allen.

"Alright. Allen, you should rest, the Earl wants to talk to you as soon as you can stand. But you can count on me and Tyki." Allen smiled weakly, muttered an alright and was dead to the world.

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Levrier had just received information that there was an eye-witness who had reported seeing a heavily-wounded Allen being carried away by a Noah in a small town fifty miles from here. Levrier was trying to use this information to shake the responsibility for this mess off his shoulders. 'I can prove Walker a traitor with this. Wait, if I do that, I'd still have been my responsibility to notice and imprison him. I really don't like this option, but the only way for me to get out of this mess is if I make Allen Walker a martyr.' After he had decided the course of action, Levrier called for a meeting of Headquarters entire staff and the Exorcists. Once they were there, he cleared his throat.

"As many of you will have heard, there was an incident this night. We noticed one of our exorcists was missing and started a search. I don't know how rumors of execution orders came up, but they are false. The exorcist in question is Allen Walker." when the ruckus finally calmed down, Levrier continued. "We currently believe that on his way to his quarters, his eye registered Akuma near this institution. We're not sure why yet, but Allen Walker pursued them alone to a town fifty miles from here." Lenalee was getting worried. Had Levrier found Allen? But it was much worse. "There, far away from any kind of support, he was ambushed by a Noah. He put up a valiant fight, but, likely due to exhaustion from his recent mission, he was defeated. According to our reports the Noah injured him gravely and proceeded to abduct Allen Walker. He has been declared KIA, because even if he is still alive, the Earl will without a doubt awaken a Noah Allen Walker had suppressed for more than five years. Should any of you find Allen Walker, you are ordered to release him from his misery. He knows too much to be left in the hands of the Earl, though he'll probably keep his tongue for as long as humanly possible, but once the Noah takes over completely, he'll be a deadly enemy." Everyone started talking at the same time, while Lenalee was just staring in shock. Allen had been gravely injured before the escape, even though Levrier didn't know that, and had been in no condition to fight a mosquito, much less a Noah. Lenalee had brought one of her best friend right into their worst enemy's hands.

Levrier was relieved. It had gone better than he'd hoped, and in his eyes, the story had been convincing because it was close to the truth. Allen Walker had somehow learned of his execution and was ambushed by a Noah during his escape. Ironic. But the cover-story had convinced Central, and that was what counted. And since Walker was now considered an enemy, the whole problem might solve itself. But Levrier wondered how Allen Walker had found out he was to be executed. Maybe it would be safer to request some more exorcists to replace the General-level one they had just lost. He reached for the phone.

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When Allen opened his eyes, he felt better than both the 14th and the other Noah had predicted. He tried to stand up and was surprised when he actually succeeded. He was still a bit shaky, but he didn't fall over.

"_**It looks like I've underestimated your recovery, it usually takes almost a week to stand up. Though maybe you shouldn't let the others know how fit you already are."**_ Allen would probably never get used to a voice in his head. Though now he had a feeling he would soon understand how Timothy felt with his Innocence.

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Back in the Black Order, Timothy sneezed. _"Are you getting a cold, master?"_

"Someone must have thought about me."

"_Not very likely, master. Possible, but not very likely._"

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But Allen's self-proclaimed adviser was right. It was alwayss best not to reveal ones hand until the others show theirs, and having an ace they didn't expect could save his life. After all, one could never be too careful. He laid back down and an instant later, Tyki, Road and the twins entered, though apparently Road and Tyki were trying to stop the twins from entering... He only now noticed that while still on a couch, he was in a different room then were he fell asleep. He also noticed a maid that was obviously an Akuma, but his eye didn't react. Was there something wrong with it?

"_**No,"**_ the musician told him _**"but since Akuma are no longer your natural enemy, it's only logical **__**that it wouldn't activate. Also, your entire body changed when you became a Noah, and that includes your left eye. Though you should still be able to consciously activate it."**_ Allen nodded and turned his attention to the twins, who were arguing with their siblings.

"We're not leaving until he pays his master's debts!" the twins shouted. Allen shot up, but he wasn't fit enough for such rash movements yet and nearly fainted again. Tyki saw that and went to support him.

"Calm down Allen. You don't have to rush." But Allen wouldn't listen. "I won't pay anything. I've spent five years paying back my stupid masters debts, I'll never do that again!" Road seemed curious.

"How much did you pay back? I mean, how much debt can one man make?" Allen told her. Her jaw dropped. Tyki stared at Allen wide-eyed. The twins stumbled backwards and fell on their bottoms. "You're kidding!" Road shouted. Allen sadly shook his head.

"_**Even though you've got rid of your involvement with their debt problem by using their pity, you should try to make friends among the Noah. They might save your life one day."**_ The musician was right. Anyone who was able and willing to help him was desperately needed. Allen smiled a charming smile.

"How about this, once I'm fit enough, I'll help you get rid of those debts. Deal?" Everyone stared at him. The twins smiled.

"You'd really do that? Thanks, bro." Tyki looked at him.

"_Can_ you really do that?" Allen grinned.

"Of course, and if you help, it will go even faster." Tyki grinned.

"I'm in. Do you have any questions?"

Allen looked at his gray hands. "How do I get back to my normal appearance?"

Tyki blinked. He looked at Road. She shrugged and looked at the twins. They shook their heads. Allen was getting a bad feeling. Finally, Tyki turned back towards him. "Truth to be told, we have no idea. Road could do it from the start, Cyril and I woke up one morning in our white form, the twins haven't figured it out yet and Skin never learned it." Great, just great. Then Allen's stomach interrupted his gloomy thoughts, causing Road to grin.

"You're too weakened to do anything, Allen," she said while he thought: 'If you only knew' "so I'll have to feed you." Tyki looked at him with an apologetic smile on his face and Allen knew it would be a long, _long_ day.

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And chapter 6 is done. Whew, I barely made it, but that's what god made all-nighters for (It's 2:15 AM). Not much to say, only a thank you for all my readers, especially Starforce119 and addenza who reviewed practically every chapter, the request to send me characters or ideas in general, and a few questions I thought up to inspire more people to review.

1. What do you think is Allen's power and what Noah is he (dreams, pleasure, lust, etc.)? I've already decided on both, but I want to see if someone guesses it right.

2. Which parts of his visions have a historical background? My complements to the one(s) who find out the identity of the hooded figure, though it's not that hard.

3. How do you like this story and how am I doing for my first try at writing?

I'll probably take a few days break for school, or try to write down some other stories I can't seem to ban out of my head. I've always had trouble with my overactive imagination. Maybe I can squeeze another chapter into this weekend, but I'm not sure how yet.

Again, everything but flames is welcome.

Please Review


	7. With the Family

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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Road had fed Allen, and the food really wasn't bad. Almost as good as Jerry's. _Almost_. He knew he would say he was strong enough to keep his promise tomorrow. Another day of being pampered like this and he would go insane. While Road fed him dessert, Allen wondered how his nerves would survive this day. Then Cyril walked in. "How is the new family member do..." he froze at the picture. His first thought was 'Road looks so cute!', directly followed by 'Why is my cute Road _feeding_ him?' He glared at Allen, who rephrased his question to how _he_ would survive this day. "Road, I want to talk to Allen for a minute, could you please leave the room?"

"Yeah, go annoy someone else.", Tyki muttered, but so that only Allen could hear him. Road pouted, which caused Cyril to practically melt away, and left. Cyril turned to Tyki.

"Could you leave us alone for a while?" Tyki snorted.

"No chance in hell, I remember what you did to that poor delivery-boy just because he accidentally bumped into Road. No no, I stay where I am, Allen stays where he is and you stay at least six feet away from him. Are we clear?" Cyril gritted his teeth, but he nodded. He then proceed to hold Allen a speech that could be summed up with the sentence: _Touch my sweet little Road and I'll repaint the arc with you._ After Cyril left, Allen sighed.

'Am I damned to always get stuck with the same types of lunatics? The twins are a bit like Lavi and that Cyril is another Komui. Why me?' But his adviser didn't seem to have an answer for that either.

Not even ten seconds after her 'father' had left, Road rushed back into the room. She looked at Allen's arm, and suddenly sounded more serious. "Allen, can you still activate your left arm?" She asked. Allen looked at his arm. He honestly wasn't sure. "Try it." Road ordered.

Allen obeyed and Crown Clown draped itself around his shoulders, optically no different from before. But Allen sensed that something was different. He didn't know what, but Crown Clown seemed changed. He didn't feel threatened or anything, but it was a weird feeling. He spoke. "Something is different. I don't know what, but it's weird." Tyki and Road looked worried.

"This might get you in serious trouble, Allen. The Earl will probably want it destroyed." He took Allen's clawed hand in his own. Allen pulled his arm back, scared. The claws slashed over Tyki's hand.

"Tyki! Are you alright?" Road called.

Allen was close to a panic. "I'm sorry Tyki I didn't mean to..." He stopped mid-sentence. Tyki's glove had been cut through, but there wasn't a scratch on his hand. "How...?" Road grabbed Allen's hand and slided her finger up and down the blade. She wasn't cut either. She pulled out one of her hairs, grabbed it with both hands and pulled it over the bladed finger. It ripped. It wasn't cut, it had just ripped under the pressure. She smiled.

"Your Innocence doesn't hurt us. It's safe for Noah. It doesn't need to be destroyed." Road cheered and hugged him. Tyki phased his head through the door to make sure Cyril wouldn't come walking in. If he'd seen Road kiss Allen again, although this time only on the cheek, he would have skinned the boy alive.

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Levrier leaned back. Three new exorcists would be stationed at Headquarters and were already on their way. He looked at their profiles again.

Name: Jesaia Harlequin

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Nationality: American

Hair color: Blond

Eye color: Blue

Innocence: Ifrit

Innocence-type: Equipment

Syncro-ratio: 93%

Yes, Levrier remembered the boy. A cheerful idiot and friend of the Bookman junior, Lavi, but he got the job done. What Levrier really hated about that yank was his habit of playing tricks on people. He earned his name, that was everyones opinion. He should face corporal punishment, that was Levrier's opinion. He looked at the next one.

Name: Valkyrie Nocturn

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Nationality: German

Hair color: Black

Eye color: Green

Innocence: Divine

Innocence-type: Equipment

Syncro-ratio: 97%

Levrier made a face. The girl was obedient, but she hated the Black Order, humanity in general and him in particular. They had forced her into joining when she had reacted to her Innocence and her will had to be practically broken before she had begun to follow orders. She only stayed with them because she had nowhere else to go, and rumors were floating around that she had a death wish. And now the last one.

Name: Friedrich Himmelhund

Age: 32

Gender: Male

Nationality: German

Hair color: Blond

Eye color: Brown

Innocence: Gaia Hatchet

Innocence-type: Equipment

Syncro-ratio: 99%

Now this man Levrier liked. The former death-row criminal followed orders to the letter and did whatever was necessary to complete a mission. He had been found five years ago by General Zokalo and the two got along well together. The story with his Innocence had been frustrating for Levrier. In Friedrich's first year as an exorcist his Innocence-ratio had skyrocketed to 99%, making Levrier hope this man would soon become a General, and stayed there ever since. But Friedrich would still be a valuable help, and he might straighten the the workers here up. To send an exorcist to get _coffee_! Levrier liked Friedrich's motto:_ Und willst du nicht mein Bruder sein, so schlag ich dir den Schädel ein!_ He could hardly await the man's arrival.

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When Allen woke up, he felt great. He had asked Tyki to get him a suit in his size, and his new brother had not disappointed him. He got dressed, combed his how black hair to cover the stigmata and left, looking for Tyki and the twins. He found the twins first. They stared at him. "You should be in bed." Jasdero scolded him, and David added "You should rest some more, the Earl wants to talk with you tomorrow." Allen smiled.

"I thought that maybe I could help you get rid of those debts now." He shrugged. The twins blinked.

"Let's go, brother." they both called. Allen grinned in triumph.

"_**That was low. Effective, but low."**_ the musician snickered. Allen mentally replied 'The means justify the measures.' At that moment, Tyki appeared and grabbed Allen's shoulder.

"Oh no you don't Allen, you're going back to bed." Allen flinched. He looked at Tyki. "If I have to spend another day laying around being pampered by Road, I'm going to ram my head through a wall." he quietly replied, not wanting Road to hear him should she also be around here. Tyki sighed.

"Point taken. So, where do you want to go?" Allen told him the name of a big casino. Tyki raised a brow. "You want us to gamble?" He asked. Allen stared at him.

"Of course not! I want you to cheat." He answered. Tyki and the twins had to grin.

At the casino, Allen instructed Tyki to play dice, keeping one hand below the table and alter the results to how he needed them and told the twins how to use their powers to cheat the Pachinko-machines. He himself went to play cards. It didn't even take an hour to make enough money to cover the debts, but they kept playing and ended up with a nice amount to spend. Allen, who was the most experienced in such situations, called them to leave shortly before the casino would have kicked them out and returned to the arc. The Earl was waiting for them.

"Where were you?" he asked. Tyki answered for them.

"We were clearing a few debts for Jasdevi." The Earl seemed confused.

"What debts?" The twins fidgeted a bit.

"Well, you ordered us to find Cross, remember?" The Earl nodded, signaling them to continue "Well, we searched for him, but he was always a step ahead of us, and he..." they didn't want to say it, but Road, who had appeared through one of her doors, had no mercy or second thoughts.

"And he suckered them into taking over his debts for alcohol, women, cigars and other stuff." the twins were crushed by that harsh truth, but Allen added

"My master is very sneaky and a fan of low-blows, but we cleared the debts, so that's all in the past." The Earl nodded and turned to Allen.

"All right, go get some rest, everyone. And Allen, tomorrow we're going to have to talk, but not before breakfast, so no reason to loose sleep. Good night."

He left and Allen gulped. If this went wrong, he'd be toast.

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Jesaia was bored. He was looking foreword to seeing Lavi again, but he could have had more luck with his company. Val was cute, but something about her just gave that _born to cry_ feeling. Talking to her was like taking a tranquilizer. And his other companion was even worse. Jesaia really didn't like Friedrich. He was the king of killjoys and, so the rumors said, of kill-for-joys, but the stories that he'd killed humans that were in his way and even innocent bystanders, which didn't seem to far-fetched with this guy, we're much worse. Jesaia seriously didn't like hurting civilians, as that stuck-up geezer Levrier would phrase it. Also, Friedrich didn't look like a nice man should. He'd shaved his head except for a small spot on the back of his head, almost at the neck. The hair there was long and bound in a sort of ponytail. Jesaia had decided that the man would kill him if he played a trick on him, so there was really nothing to do. He hoped they'd be there soon.

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Allen woke up because he felt like someone had just punched him in the gut. When he opened his eyes, he saw why he felt like that. Road was laying in his bed, right on his stomach and Allen had a feeling she had just jumped there.

"If this bed isn't on fire, you'll regret that." he glanced at the clock "I correct, if the arc isn't on fire."

Road waved him off. "Come on, get dressed, today will be an important day for you. First day of the rest of your life, as they say." Allen moaned.

"Or _the_ rest of my life if anything goes wrong. Could you wait outside for a moment, I'll be right there."

While they were walking around the arc, they suddenly heard Tyki calling "Oh for crying out loud, wake up, Cyril! It's almost time for breakfast!" when they looked through a door, they saw Tyki and Jasdevi standing in front of a desk, trying to wake up Cyril, who was sleeping in the chair behind the desk. Allen, who was having a déjà vu, turned to Road.

"Is he always like this?" Road sighed.

"No. usually a sneezing termite could wake him up, but once or twice a week, he gets what we call a coma-phase and we just can't wake him up." Allen seemed lost in thought.

"I might know of a way to get him wide awake immediately, but you might have to keep him off of me." everyone looked at him. Then they all said "Deal."

Allen walked around the desk and whispered "Road is going on a date." Cyril's eyes snapped open.

"WHAAT?! WHO DARES TOUCH MY ROAD?!" The other Noah were wondering if they should laugh or stare in shock. They decided to calm down Cyril.

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At the breakfast-table, Allen was sitting between Road and Tyki, Cyril and Lulubelle glaring at him from the opposite side. The Earl hadn't arrived yet. Everything was calm and relaxed until Lero spoke. "I still can't believe what Road did to Allen ~ Lero." Cyril froze and everyone but Allen and Lulubelle stopped eating.

"What happened between Allen and Road?" Cyril asked, a dangerous tone in his voice. Allen remained calm, chewed and swallowed before answering.

"She stabbed out my eye." Cyril relaxed and everyone released the breath they hadn't even noticed they were holding. And then the stupid umbrella ruined everything.

"No, I meant when she kisse..." Tyki had jumped up to silence him, but it was too late. Cyril dropped his knife.

"Kissed?" Allen knew that this moment of silence was only the calm before the storm. Mount Cyril would erupt any moment now, and if he wasn't gone by then, he'd be dead meat. Both Allen and Cyril jumped up at the same time, Allen turning to run. Cyril threw his fork at Allen, a piece of pancake still skewered on it. Allen barely dodged it and bolted away.

When the Earl entered, he saw Allen Walker running for his life and disappearing in one of Road's doors while she, Tyki and Jasdevi were trying to calm an enraged Cyril. "I can't wait to hear this explanation." he muttered.

When the Noah finally convinced Allen to leave Road's dimension, he had refused to come out until he had proof Cyril was on the other side of the planet, the Earl started to speak. "Well Allen, do you know what part of Noah's memories you have?" Allen nodded.

"I am Noah's compassion." The Earl sighed.

"I thought so. Compassion is the most troublesome of his memories. Many of your predecessors have been troublemakers. Very powerful troublemakers."

"_**He's not kidding."**_ the musician added _**"He killed me himself because there was no one else who could have defeated me. Now he's wondering if you're as dangerous as I was. And some of our predecessors actually have founded pacifistic or humanitarian religions."**_ Allen was sure it was the truth.

"I won't expect you to cause massacres, that's simply against your nature. But our potentially greatest problem is your Innocence. Is it still active?" Road and Tyki practically jumped in the way.

"Yes, it still works, but it doesn't hurt us Noah, we've tried it already!" Road called "Right, Tyki?" Tyki nodded.

The Earl raised a brow. "Are you ready to prove that?" Tyki nodded again. "Very well, then you'll raise your arm and Allen will activate his Innocence and slash your arm. Do you agree?" All Noah gasped, but Tyki just raised his arm in front of Allen. Allen swallowed.

"Are you sure, Tyki?" "Just do it." Allen bit his lip and activated his Innocence. He raised his claw and looked at Tyki one last time, who nodded.

Allen struck and Tyki winced in pain. The others stared.

"That doesn't look good." Lulubelle stated.

"Something tells me reattaching won't be an option here." Cyril moaned.

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Chapter 7 is done. What do you think will happen next? How did this chapter turn out? By the way, when it came to Allen's visions, what's important is not just what he saw, but how he reacted to it. And what do you think are the abilities of the three exorcists, I've already given the names of their Innocence. And from 1 to 10, 1 being miserable and 10 being fantastic, how good is this fic? What can I do better, what is already pretty good?

To addenza: Congratulations, you're right, its Jack the Ripper.

To Starforce119: Thank you for reviewing all of my chapters, but why would I use a memory that already has a Noah? But both you and dark-Yuuki-sama gave me a few ideas, so thanks to you both.

To dark-Yuuki-sama: Don't worry, I'm a bit more creative than that. Allen's ability to use his Innocence is a side-effect, although one that will be important for the plot.

German lesson: Himmelhund has 2 meanings. Literally it translates to 'hound of heaven' and it's used as a replacement for a swear-word, like the english: _that son of a gun_, though it's hardly ever used anymore. Friedrich's motto is an old german rhyme, roughly meaning: _And if you don't want to be my brother, i shall bash in your skull._

Again, ideas, doesn't matter if their for characters or anything else are welcome and requested.

Every kind of reviews but flames are welcome and also requested.

Please Review


	8. Fitting in

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM and I never will

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_Flashback_

_Allen struck and Tyki winced in pain. The others stared._

"_That doesn't look good." Lulubelle stated._

"_Something tells me reattaching won't be an option here." Cyril moaned._

_End of flashback_

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"Well Allen," the Earl stated "you've officially killed the coat."

"And it was one of my favorites too." Tyki added, rubbing his arm. "I should have rolled up my sleeve before doing this."

Allen's clawed hand had slashed through the sleeve and slid down Tyki's arm, the first claw slicing the sleeve in half while the other claws had cut the sliced-off part to ribbons. There was indeed no chance anyone would be able to fix that. Allen sighed. "Okay, so it can hurt Noah about as much as any ordinary arm would. What's your final judgment, Earl?"

"I don't know, it could still be the Heart." Road jumped up.

"But whatever happens to the Heart happens to all other Innocence as well, right?" Everyone nodded, so she continued "So if Allen has the Heart, wouldn't that mean that no Innocence would be able to harm us anymore?!" Everyone blinked. It made sense. Cyril glared at Allen for being protected by Road, _again_!

The Earl thought about it for a second, then he nodded. "You can keep your arm, Allen. Who knows, it might help you discover and use your Noah-powers faster, and if not, at least you won't be completely helpless when you're attacked. By the way, does your eye still work?"

Allen activated his eye. He saw the soul of the Akuma maid standing in the corner, a Level 2, as usual, but then he noticed the monocle-like gears that should have appeared where missing and that nobody else seemed able to see the soul. "It still works for me, but it seems to have lost the function of showing the souls to others. Also, it doesn't simply automatically react to Akuma's presence anymore, so I have to consciously activate it. I guess it's because Akuma are no longer my mortal enemies." He then said, publicizing the musicians theory as his own.

The Earl nodded again. "It seems that way. Anyway, we're done here. Allen, get some rest and maybe a new set of clothes, you can't run around in borrowed stuff forever. Tyki will give you a list of clothes stores lead by Akuma, so you can get some clothes there. Tyki will also accompany you, he probably needs a new suit since you wrecked his old one." With that, he vanished. Road yawned.

"I'm going to bed. Good night Tyki, good night Cyril, good night Allen." At that last part, Cyril gave Allen another nasty look. He waited until Road and Jasdevi had left, then he grabbed Allen at the shoulder. Tyki moved between them, just in case.

"Allen Walker, since the Earl has permitted it, I'll let you stay here. But if I find even a single cut in her clothes, I'll make sure you loose a lot more than just your left arm!" Cyril declared "And about this kiss..." Allen, realizing he was in a potentially life-threatening situation, raised his arms in defense.

"I swear, I had no idea what was happening before it was too late. Ask the stupid umbrel..., I mean Lero!" Cyril seemed to think about it.

"I will. And should I find out that it was different, or if it happens again, I will make sure it doesn't happen again. Ever. Are we clear?" Allen quickly nodded and Cyril seemed to acknowledge it before turning around and leaving. Allen stared after him. What was that man thinking? That he'd grab Road and defile her? He turned to Tyki.

"He sees there's an Innocence that doesn't hurt Noah and his only thoughts are that I could use it to swiftly declothe Road?" Tyki shrugged. At that moment, Lulubelle got up and turned to leave. When she noticed Allen was looking at her, she said "You can stay here as long as you want, but if you try to harm the Earl or his plans, I will kill you." Then she was gone.

"And why does she hate me? Because of the egg?" Tyki shook his head.

"Apparently you've destroyed an Akuma that was responsible for her cosmetics." Allen stared at him. "You know, it did her nails and stuff. Was the spirit of a maid, or something like that. Wore a maids uniform and had white hair, if I remember correctly." Allen nodded. He remembered her. He had more or less accidentally destroyed her when he had tried to stop Lulubelle from destroying an Innocence with the power of prediction. Unsuccessfully, thanks to that Akuma shielding both the Noah and the Innocence long enough for Lulubelle to destroy it. But he couldn't believe that the woman would hold a grudge for such a ridiculous reason.

"Is there a way to make peace with her?" He asked. One Noah more than willing to kill him was already one too many. Cyril would slaughter him given half a chance, and Road being determined to stick to him like glue would not help in calming Cyril down either. But maybe Tyki knew how to get Lulubelle of his list of problems.

"Unless you find someone who has enough skill to take that Mimi's place, and I can assure you there are no Akuma with the necessary skill, I don't see how."

Allen sighed. Just great, Now what? His adviser answered _**"Now you go to bed. You're exhausted and I can assure you that you won't solve that problem today. Maybe you'll find someone with the required skill and, more importantly, the will to throw all of their pride out the window and play maid, but that will take a while."**_

The musician was right. Allen was tired and would certainly not find that someone here. "I'm going to bed. Tomorrow we'll shop for clothes, again sorry about the coat." He told Tyki.

"No problem, see you tomorrow." Tyki replied and left. Allen returned to the room he had been resting in. The bed was as comfortable as he remembered it and soon Allen fell into a dreamless sleep.

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Finally! They had arrived at Headquarters. Jesaja was anxious to see Lavi, but hoped that Bookman would spare them the speeches about history or, even worse, proper behavior.

When they entered the building, Jesaja wasn't sure if he had entered a beehive or a graveyard. People were running around, but everyone seemed depressed. Friedrich seemed strangely amused by this sight and little Val either didn't care or kept a perfect pokerface. Levrier entered the picture and the mood reached new depths. For a second, Jesaja thought he saw a frightened, no terrified expression on Val's face, then it was wiped away by the usual emotionless expression. He himself felt the strong need to do something that would create enough paperwork to keep the man busy in some faraway office forever. Friedrich on the other hand seemed pleased and walked towards Levrier. The two men shook hands, and Jesaja used his dumbs and index-fingers to form a frame. Then he did something he had heard a Level 3 called Eshi used to do. "Title: Meeting of *ssholes." For a second, he thought he saw a smile on Val's face, but before he could get a closer look, someone called his name.

"Jesaia, over here!" It was Lavi, without Bookman, but with a really hot girl instead. It took a moment to realize it was Lenalee. So much for his date plans. Komui could be scarier than a horde of Level 3's if someone got even remotely close to dating his sister. And Jesaia should know, he had tried. A very unpleasant memory. When he looked around again, Valkyrie was gone. Levrier and Himmelhund also were nowhere in sight, but Jesaia counted that as a good thing.

'Oh well, time to catch up with Lavi.' he thought before taking his buddy in a headlock. "What did I hear? You attacked a Level 4 barehanded? Did Bookman finally replace your last bit of common sense and intelligence with histoy and war reports?" Lavi laughed.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time. And I looked really cool when Yu and I had our dramatic entrance." Jesaia had to laugh as well and even Lenalee smiled. Jesaia decided to ask what was wrong with the Atmosphere.

"Hey Lavi, what's going on here? I mean, did somebody die?" At that Lenalee broke started to cry and Lavi bit his lip. Jesaia was getting a bad feeling.

"Allen Walker, I've told you about him." Jesaia nodded. He sounded like a nice guy, as long as you weren't on a dinner-plate. Jesaia had been looking forward to meeting him, but now it seemed like he wouldn't get that chance. Lavi continued "He left Headquarters a few days ago and was captured by a Noah. Allen was suppressing a Noah, but the Earl will probably awaken him and we have orders to kill him the next time we meet him." Lenalee activated her Innocence and was gone in a second. But both Lavi and Jesaia had noticed her Dark Boots had suddenly become pure white with a few black parts, like the knee-protectors and the shoe from the ankle down. Lavi turned to leave as well, but Jesaia stopped him.

"Lavi, I have an idea." he cheerfully declared before changing his tone to a serious one. "How about you cut the bullshit and tell me what really happened?" Lavi sighed.

"Okay, but not here." Jesaia nodded. This seemed like something that could get them in major trouble if the wrong people eavesdropped.

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Allen felt pretty good. He was wearing a white shirt and black pants that fitted perfectly. He and Tyki had somehow managed to stop Road, who had insisted, much to Cyril's anger, to accompany them, from using him as a dress-up doll. She had tried her hardest and managed to get a red, hair-band-like ribbon around his neck. When he looked in the mirror, he saw that he looked almost exactly like the phantom in the lake that had stopped him from reaching Lenalee. Oh well, it suited him and wearing the uniform of the exorcists seemed like a bad idea. Cyril would probably see it as proof for treason and kill him in the most painful way possible. Allen checked his new pocket watch and saw it was time to return to the arc.

When they returned, Allen asked a question that had popped into his head while he had been forced to lay still and gather strength. "So, what do the Noah do in their free time?"

Tyki smiled. "That's different for each Noah. I like to hang around with a few friends, Skin used to stuff himself with sweets and the twins, well, they mess around. As for Lulubelle, your guess is as good as mine. Cyril is a politician. And Road..." he made a dramatic pause while Road looked at him, surprised "...has some homework she needs to finish. And since the Earl isn't here today, she'll actually have to do them herself." Road made a disgusted face and protested, but to no avail. She sat in front of her homework in one of the arc's lobbies, looking upset and confused. Allen peeked over her shoulder. It was Geography.

"I don't get any of this! I have no idea what to do!" Road complained. Allen seemed lost in thought. After she had defended him in front of the Earl, it was the least he could do.

"I'll help you." He said, grabbing one of her books and a pen.

"Really?" Road remembered the last time her relatives had 'helped' her. But when she glanced at the book, Allen had filled out more than half of the blank spots, and from the first look it seemed like everything was right. "How do you know all that?" She asked, baffled. Allen had to smile.

"When I was traveling with my stupid master, I learned a lot about the world. Also, one day Cross said he didn't want a dumb apprentice because it would make him look bad in front of the ladies and forced me to learn many things." Road's eyes glittered.

"So, can you help me with my other homework? Not even Cyril spends much time helping me." She pouted. Allen sighed and nodded. She seemed ready to hug him again, but he signaled her to stay seated. She turned around and saw Cyril coming down a staircase, a disapproving look on his face. And, coincidently, there was a showcase containing a set of spears sitting on a podium not even six feet away from Cyril. Allen was sure that if Road had hugged, let alone kissed him again, Cyril would have tried his impression of Vlad the Impaler on him.

'There go five years of my life. If this goes on, I'll die from stress before anyone has the chance to kill me. All I can do is pray I never have to rely on Cyril to watch my back, he would likely get me caught in friendly fire. Lulubelle would probably not kill me as long as the Earl thinks I'm okay, but I doubt she'd make a great effort to save me either.' The rest of the homework was done swiftly, since Cyril participated in the work to keep an eye on Allen. Then he split them up, telling Allen to bring his stuff to his room.

When Allen arrived at his room, he noticed someone had placed a piano in it. He smiled and formulated a thought for the musician. 'More your passion than mine, but a good way to kill time. Shall we?' _**"Yes, not a bad idea. Especially since you have an enormous musical talent. Despite what you may think, you were the one who played the Piano in the old arc. You were pretty good too, especially considering you had practically no experience." **_Allen sat down and began to play.

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"So let me get this straight. Central ordered Allen to be executed. Then that woman..." "Miranda." "Whatever. So this woman freezes everybody in time, giving you enough time to get him to safety, with three quarters of the _Generals_ aiding in the escape, even though the boy was turning into a Noah. Lenalee drops Allen off far away, and by doing so makes CROW a laughingstock of all those who hear of this incident, only for some Noah to come by, pick him up and carry him away? And now Lenalee thinks it's her fault?" Jesaia couldn't believe it, but Lavi nodded. "You're all in deep shit. Man, I wish I could have been there, it sounds pretty exiting." Both boys grinned.

"Come on, let's find Lenalee and cheer her up." Lavi suggested. "And while we're at it, we can ask what happened to her Dark Boots."

They found Lenalee together with her brother on their way to Hevlaska, intending to ask the exact same question, so the boys tagged along.

When Hevlaska tested Lenalee's Innocence, she seemed surprised. "The Innocence is purer than any other Innocence I have seen in the last six-hundred years."

Komui seemed confused. "What do you mean, Hevlaska?"

"Modern Innocence has lost some of its purity and is therefore weakened. This was irreversible and couldn't be stopped, so there was no point in telling you. In other words, ancient Innocence that was held in one object without humanity's influence is more powerful than normal Innocence. The Innocence that Yu Kanda brought in a while ago from that gladiator is a good example. Its basic property was healing, but because it was old, powerful and remained in the same Avatar for centuries, it gave the user immortality. But because it always was in the hands of that man, the Innocence lost some Purity and is only slightly better than a normal Innocence."

"And the Crystal-type has the ability to self-purify? What does that mean for combat?" Jesaia had no idea where Levrier had appeared from, but it was clear that he had heard most of the conversation. Friedrich was standing behind Levrier.

"It will be able to destroy Akuma more easily. Also, contact with it will cause great pain to Noah." Hevlaska answered. "It's also possible that it could damage even the Millennium Earl."

Levrier grinned a wolfish grin and clapped his hands. "Excellent. So we have another weapon against the Noah. And this one can even be used as often as required. Simply wonderful."

"What do you mean, _another_? And my sister is more than just a weapon." Komui seemed upset, but Levrier ignored his second statement.

"Friedrich here is equipped with a plan to eliminite the Noah known as Tyki Mikk, you will be informed of the details should that be necessary. He is our secret weapon against that Noah, but the plan will only work if the Noah doesn't know what Friedrich is going to hit him with. Also, I'm sending Harlequin, Nocturn and Himmelhund here on a mission to a remote town were rumors of miracles sprout and Finders disappear. Himmelhund will be in charge." He noticed the look on Lavi's and Jesaia's faces and added "I'm also sending Jesaia on this mission so that he and the young Bookman don't run amok in the Order. This is not up for discussion, _are we clear?_" His last words sounded like a threat and Jesaia knew there was nothing he could do.

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Allen was still playing the piano when Road entered his room. Since she could control the arc, there was almost no part of it she couldn't enter. She didn't even have to use her own doors, the arc's doors just opened for her. Allen didn't notice her until she started to speak.

"You're pretty good."

"Thanks." Then he got a idea. "Where is the arc? I mean, the old one was stuck in Japan, but this one can move to anywhere, right?" Road nodded.

"This arc is stationed in the Sahara desert, over a hundred miles away from the nearest source of drinkable water. If anyone tried to reach us, they'd be long dead before they even got close." She replied. Allen sighed. "What's wrong, Allen?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking of taking a stroll through nature, but in the desert..."

"No problem, Allen, I'll just make you a gate." and suddenly there was one floating in front of them.

"Is this really okay? I mean if the Earl finds out..." He was truly worried about her, but Road simply waved it off.

"This type of gate will automatically bring you back here in two hours, so there's no problem."

"I don't know how I can ever repa..." Allen was cut off when Road jumped in his arms and kissed him again. On the lips. Allen knew that if Cyril ever found out, he was toast.

"You just did." Then someone cleared his throat. They spun around to see Tyki standing in the doorway Road had left open when she had entered. He grinned.

"I didn't see or hear anything. Oh, and Road, make sure he's back before dinner." Allen sighed in relief. Tyki wouldn't tattle.

"We dine in more than four hours, Tyki. He'd be back twice by then."

"Well in that case, off you go, Allen."

Allen smiled, waved and stepped through the gate.

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Chapter 8 is finally done. School is one of the circles of hell. 2 exams, 1 exam-replacing presentation and 8 tipped pages about England's politics also counted like an exam, and all in one week. If anyone from the UK reads this, I have nothing against your country, I've been there for a weekend and it was fun. But having to write about such systems should be a form of punishment. I had zero time to work on this before today and was in permanent stress. But enough about that. I MIGHT get another chapter done this weekend, though I must learn for physics as well.

I also noticed that if I want people to answer all the questions I ask, I have to line them up. So here are the questions.

1. How did you like this chapter? And, be honest, who thought Tyki had lost an arm (my compliments to Lord Edric, I didn't expect anyone to guess it)

2. Since I went through all the trouble of giving you the names of the OC's Innocence (chapter 7) sooner than I had planned, maybe someone can guess what they can do (Okay, Valkyrie's is practically impossible to guess with just the name, but the others shouldn't be that hard.)

3. Does anyone have an idea what part of Noah Cyril has? (I have an idea, but someone else might have a better one)

4. Since only one person has done it up 'til now (my thanks to Starforce119), I will ask again. From a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being miserable and 10 being awesome, how good is this fic?

5. Is there anything I can do to improve this story? (Besides getting better at English grammar)

That's all for now. Thank you to all my readers and remember: The more reviews an author gets, even if they are critics, the more motivated he'll be to write the next chapter. At least that's how it works for me. Although I might wanna start with putting something in my profile, I've always been too lazy in that aspect. Again, sending me characters would be appreciated, it might help to improve the story.

All reviews except for flames are welcome.

Please Review


	9. Prelude to Trouble

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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When Allen opened his eyes, he found himself in a clearing in a forest. To his left there was the beginning of a mountain range, a spring falling from a cliff four feet above his head into a small lake. Right beside the lake was one oak, with branches that looked thick enough to hold his weight. No other trees forty feet around it, just that oak by the waterfall. It seemed like a nice place, and Allen jumped on one of the thicker branches, twelve feet above the ground, laid down and leaned on the trunk. About half a mile behind the tree-line, he could see a town. Suddenly, he felt a weird itch in his left arm. Allen used his right arm to try to scratch his arm, but then the feeling vanished and he just stared at his right hand. It had turned back to its normal flesh-color. He looked into the lake. His hair was still black and his head was still gray. Maybe it slowly spread over time, Tyki had mentioned that he had been asleep when the transformation occurred. Allen shrugged. He had time.

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Jesaia found he lacked the patience to follow through with this mission. Even though they had taken a gate, at least as far as the Finders dared to go, they were lost. Even cold and calculating Friedrich, who was using his ax as a machete, was getting annoyed. Jesaia would have burned the whole forest down if they would have let him. The only one that remained calm was Val. She had her usual emotionless expression, and nothing seemed to be able to shake her, not even walking through this stupid forest for four hours. Suddenly, she turned and pointed towards their left.

"I can see some light over there, it might be a clearing." Even her voice was absolutely emotionless.

"Are you sure?" He didn't see anything, but she didn't seem to be the type to tell lies.

"We keep going this way." Friedrich interrupted. He didn't seem to like her questioning his authority.

"But we've been here before." She answered in her lifeless voice, pointing at a few branches Friedrich had cut of more than an hour ago.

"She's right, we've been going in circles!" Jesaia didn't believe it. Friedrich ground his teeth. He pushed Val out of the way, hard enough to make the girl slam into a tree, and stampeded in the direction she had pointed.

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More than an hour had past since Allen climbed the oak. A look at his reflection told Allen that he almost looked like his human form again. The gray skin-tone had slowly withdrawn and vanished in the cover of his currently still-black hair. His eyes were still golden, but Allen guessed that his hair and eyes would change in a few minutes as well. He was still pondering about what to do now that he was a Noah. Returning to the Order was not an option, they'd probably try to kill him on sight. Working with the Noah? It didn't seem like a great option either, he didn't want to fight and kill the people that had saved his life. Though the Earl had said he didn't expect massacres from him, it was unlikely he would just let him sit around in the arc enjoying family life. But with Cyril around, that was dangerous as well. And Allen still had no idea how to get Lulubelle on his side, or at least off his back. His thoughts were interrupted when three people came stumbling out of the forest to his right. They were wearing the uniforms of exorcists.

'Don't tell me they already sent people to kill me. And if they did, how did they find me?' Allen silently cursed.

"_**Don't be hasty. It's probably a coincident they're here. They don't look like they'll attack you right away, in fact, I don't think they've even spotted you yet. Fortunately, you look neither like a Noah nor like the Allen Walker the Order knew right now. Pretend you don't know them if they see you, and hide your left hand, they're no idiots!"**_ the musician advised.

He was right. They probably wouldn't recognize him and it was just foolish to attack three people with unknown powers, especially since he had no idea about his own. That and he simply didn't want to attack them. If they attacked, he would simply flee and hide until the arc called him back. But there was one thing Allen couldn't help but wonder.

'If they're not after me, what are they doing here?' He looked again. 'Besides arguing.' He then added before his adviser could get smart on him.

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"Great, no sign of civilization, just some stupid grass! We're still not any closer to our destination. _Scheiße!_" Friedrich cursed and glared at Valkyrie. Jesaia stepped in-between them.

"Well, at least we've found a place to camp, so in in case we can't find the village tonight, we have water. And since our oh-so-wise leader has already chopped enough wood to make a bonfire, maybe the village will find us. That is of course, should he decide to go back and get it." He grinned while Friedrich looked like he was trying his hardest _not_ to chop Jesaia's head off.

"Listen up _match-boy_," He growled instead "you are under my command and I have all the rights to punish you in any non-lethal way I see fit. So if you try to get smart with me again, I'll make use of that right. Are we clear, chandelier?" Jesaia was not about to just take such insults and prepared his reply, consequences be damned, when he spotted a boy in the tree by the waterfall.

"Hey, there's someone in that tree!" Friedrich snorted.

"If you think I'll fall for that, then you're even more stupid than..."

"There is a boy in that tree." Valkyrie interrupted him in her usual tone. Friedrich turned around and saw the black-haired boy laying on the branch.

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Allen was simply amused by what he was seeing and hearing. He had deducted that the big brute with the ax was the leader, and a pretty big asshole as well. That ax was probably his Innocence, it didn't look normal. He was certain that Komui hadn't been the one that gave the skin-head the authority, in fact, he was willing to bet that Levrier had made that decision. They just looked like they would get along. The blond kid with the sharp tongue was more of a laid-back joker, though right now he seemed pissed. The insults ax-man had thrown at the boy indicated that his Innocence had something to do with fire, good to know. As for the girl, Allen wasn't sure. She seemed like the brains of the group, but something didn't feel right. She seemed more like a doll than like a person. And they seemed to search for a village, not him. Maybe even the village Allen could see from his position. But why go there? Allen could only think of one reason: There was Innocence in that village. This could get interesting, but if Allen wasn't careful, it could also turn ugly. He noticed that they were carrying a Finder backpack, though it seemed bulkier than the ones he knew. What did that mean? Then they spotted him.

'Okay, stay calm and polite, then they shouldn't notice a thing.'he thought to himself and smiled at the group, while making sure they wouldn't see his left arm.

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"HEY! YOU UP THERE!" Jesaia called. Despite what he had said to Friedrich, he was relived that there was a pretty good chance they wouldn't have to spend the night out here. The boy in the tree seemed to wince.

"I'm not deaf, what is it?" At that moment Friedrich decided to take charge.

"Come down from there, boy!" The boy merely smiled.

"Why should I? I can hear you fine from up here." Allen knew that if he climbed down, those guys would notice his hand. So it was better if they thought he was rude, than blow his cover to just be polite. Then he noticed baldy seemed ready to cut down the tree, and added "So, how can I help you?"

"We're looking for a village, but we're lost. Do you know how can get to the nearest village?" The blond boy called, and seeing the look on Friedrich's face, he whispered to him "We're in the middle of nowhere. The closest village will be the one we're looking for." Friedrich nodded and turned his attention back to that brat in the tree, who pointed straight forward.

"If you go half a mile in that direction, you should reach a village. In fact, I can see it from up here." the boy said.

"Thanks for the help." Jesaia called.

"It was nothing."

The group of exorcists had almost reached the tree-line, when, as if to mock them, bells, probably from the village church, started to chime. "Hurry up!" Friedrich shouted as he started to run "We'll let the bells lead us to the village!" Both Jesaia and Val started to run, but Jesaia looked towards the tree again. It was empty. The boy was gone.

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Allen had activated Crown Clown and jumped to the treetops. This way was much faster and he had limited time. While jumping on the treetops, he thought about the exorcists and himself. The blond seemed pretty funny, a bit like Lavi. Maybe they knew each other. When he had looked at the girl, Allen had been filled with sorrow, even though he had no idea why. But what he found most disturbing was his reaction to the bald man. He had been filled with an intense hatred, like he had never felt it before. His left arm had twitched, seemingly wanting to kill the man himself. At first, Allen had thought that it was the Noah inside of him recognizing his mortal enemy, but if that was the case, why didn't he feel like that when looking at the other two? It was like the human in him, the Noah in him and even his Innocence seemed to hate that man to the point of wanting him dead. But why?

"_**I have no idea. But something tells me that there is a good reason. I'll admit, not even I have **__**ever felt such intense hatred before."**_ the musician stated when he sensed Allen's question.

'We'll find out eventually, I'm sure of it.' Allen thought as he reached the village and jumped on a roof. Not even five seconds later, the exorcists came running out of the forest, just in time as the last chime of the church bell echoed away. They looked around and Allen swiftly hid behind a chimney. By now, he was completely in his human form, his hair back to its normal white color. Fortunately, that made his head invisible to the exorcists, thanks to a large cloud in the background.

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"So, any idea where the Innocence might be?" Jesaia asked. He didn't expect an answer, but Val suddenly raised her hand and pointed to the top of the church's tower. Jesaia blinked. She was right. Right there, in the center of the crucifix, was a green-glowing crystal.

"Now this is almost too easy." Jesaia laughed, but Friedrich's next words immediately silenced that laugh.

"I agree. Harlequin, go get it." Friedrich sounded somewhat disappointed, though Jesaia had no idea why.

"What? Why me?" Jesaia was really upset. 'That bastard is making me do all the work!'

"Because I am ordered not to reveal my Innocence and Nocturn's Innocence is unsuitable for such a situation." Jesaia couldn't argue with that. "Also because I am your commander and I order you to, match-boy. Just see it as your punishment for insulting a superior." That was it! But how to get revenge? Then Jesaia had an idea.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." He turned towards the crucifix. Friedrich was right behind him, Valkyrie a few feet to his left. Excellent. "Innocence activate. Ifrit." His fingerless gloves caught fire and a Celtic-Cross appeared on the back of his hands. "_Jetstream._" Fire shot out of his gloves as he used them like an engine to shoot towards the crucifix. He landed, grabbed the crystal and turned around. It had worked! Friedrich was covered in smut, while Val didn't get a single piece of ash on her. When he returned to them, he smiled.

"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry, I thought you were already out of the way. Really, it isn't smart to get so close to a fire." He could barely hold his laughter. There was nothing Friedrich could do and they both knew it. He had ordered Jesaia to lift off and hadn't gotten out of the way in time. While Friedrich knew the brat had done it on purpose, he had no proof, which meant he couldn't even take revenge. And there weren't any Akuma, or even better, Noah around to vent his anger on either. Hell, he would have taken a broker if there had been one. But right now, all he could do was silently take it.

"We return to headquarters." He growled, grabbing the backpack with the equipment.

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On the building, Allen was silently howling with laughter. That was brilliant. Served him right. And he learned the abilities of another exorcist. Not that he would ever tell the Earl, but it was good to know in case they'd have to fight one day.

But now the smut-man grabbed the backpack and started to turn a few knobs. Suddenly, a gate appeared in front of them. Allen knew that if he wanted to do something, it was now or never. Not that he wanted to fight them, but maybe he could grab the Innocence and disappear. If he managed to bring back an Innocence now, the Earl might not send him on a mission that required killing someone anytime soon. Also, Allen could see the Innocence was glowing rather weakly, and suddenly he just knew that it wasn't the heart, but a very weak piece of Innocence.

'I don't know why, but I feel weaker myself.' he thought.

"_**You're in your human form. In that form, your strength is reduced so you won't attract attention while with other humans. Change into your Noah form if you want more strength. By the way, congratulations, it usually takes at least six months to regain your human form. Also, since your Innocence is deactivated you won't get a power boost from it either."**_ The musician answered Allen's unspoken question. Allen turned into his Noah form and was about to jump...

...When suddenly a gate appeared around him. His two hours were up! Oh well, too late to do anything now. He straitened up as he landed back in his room inside the arc. Somehow, he was not surprised seeing Road there.

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When they returned, Friedrich went to wash off and report. Val brought the Innocence to Hevlaska. So Jesaia had free time he intended to spend with Lavi.

He found him and Lenalee in the infirmary, visiting Miranda and Crowry, who had been too exhausted after that fateful day. Jesaia heard that the head nurse had pulled them out of service and into those beds for three more weeks, though Crowry would be released tomorrow. He looked around for Timothy, the boy who could control people and even Akuma, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"So, where is the boy you told me about? Timothy, I believe."

"On a mission with Marie and Kanda." Lenalee replied. This seemed to be news to Lavi as well.

"Wait, Timothy and Yu are on a mission? _Together?_"Lenalee nodded "This can only end in a disaster." He then moaned.

Jesaia decided to change the topic. "Can I see your Innocence, Lenalee? I heard it changed twice."

Lenalee nodded and activated her Crystal Boots. They had been renamed, mainly because they were no longer black. Now they were snow-white from the ankle up, except for the one black plate that guarded her knee. At the ankle, there were three white rings, but you could see that the boot was black between them. Everything below the third ring was black. It looked pretty cool, but then Jesaia finally realized what Lenalee had just said. His head snapped upwards.

"Lenalee, did you just say Yu Kanda is away on a mission?"

"Yes." Lenalee seemed confused.

"And who is responsible for everything right now?" Lavi asked, catching Jesaia's drift.

"Levrier, why?" The boys just grinned at each other.

"Let's go!" They both said at the exact same time.

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Allen was dining with the rest of his 'family'. It had almost become a table of conflict. Allen was sitting on one side, again next to Road and Tyki, the twins next to them. On the other side, Cyril was glaring at Allen while Lulubelle was simply eating in silence next to him. Allen tried not to let it bother him while he swiftly but mannerly eliminated food as fast as the Akuma maids could bring it. Then the doors opened and everyone stopped eating, so Allen stopped as well. The Earl entered. When he saw the table, oh seemed surprised.

"Looks like I have to get a round table for family meals." With that, he simply took a seat and started eating.

The atmosphere was pretty relaxed, at least until the twins jumped on the table. Jasdero started to juggle with a few apples, the he suddenly threw them to Allen. Allen, having spent some time with a circus, caught them and juggled with them. David, inspired by this sudden action, threw more food towards him, and Allen ended up juggling with seventeen fruits. 'I was never this good.' Allen thought to himself 'I never managed more than twelve.'

"_**As a Noah, your reflexes are far superior to a humans, so is your strength, your agility and your speed. How else could a Noah be able to keep up with a Parasitic-type Innocence user?"**_ His adviser explained.

Allen juggled a few more seconds, then he caught them all in a act of balance. The fruits were resting on his arms, his shoulders, his left leg and his head. Tyki, Road, Jasdevi, the twins and even the Earl applauded. Allen dropped the fruits on his plate, bowed and smiled. "Thank you, but you really shouldn't play with food."

The Earl laughed. "Very true. But since we're done munching, let's talk about work." Allen, who was about to bite in a banana, the last survivor of the juggling act, froze.

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Levrier didn't believe it. How could he have been so stupid?! Central had been informed and was very upset with him. He was in big trouble, and the paperwork would be a nightmare, especially since this time, there was no way to duck the blame. He couldn't believe he made such a mistake.

Not only did he give Lavi and Jesaia more than half an hour time together, he had been foolish enough to do so while sending the only person capable of stopping their havoc, Yu Kanda, away on a mission _during_ their time together. And he immediately payed the price.

This was a new record. They had started a food-fight in the cafeteria and used the confusion to pour a laxative in the soup, sabotaged the main elevator, greased the staircases, poured ink in the Orders laundry, burned almost all of the paperwork Levrier had spent hours to design (It had served no other purpose but to punish the science division), and worst of all, unleashed two of Komui's toys, these Komurins. The damage was extensive, but nobody seemed to have seen the boys. But while Levrier noticed practically only his people fell victims to these pranks while the usual staff somehow evaded most of the them, he couldn't prove or do anything. Again.

He found the boys in the infirmary, claiming they had nothing to do with any of the problems. He was extremely angry, but he knew that the only way he had to stop their current reign of terror was to separate them. Since Jesaia had just returned from a mission, it was time for Lavi to leave. How could they have caused this much chaos in so little time?

"Lavi, you, Lenalee and Crowry are going on a mission to Ireland first thing tomorrow morning, so rest while you can. One of our Finders overheard a broker informing the Earl that he thinks he found an Innocence plus operator, but isn't sure yet. Your mission is to get that person before the Earl does. _Understood?_" They nodded. Once he had left them, Levrier sighed in relief. With these informations, the mood would be to serious for more jokes. All he had to do now was make sure Kanda was back before Lavi returned.

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"Allen, you, Tyki and Lulubelle will go to Ireland, I've just received a call from a broker who thinks he's found an Innocence-user. You will see if it's true, and should that be the case, you will destroy the Innocence and kill the operator, should that be necessary. But we still have some time, so you can leave tomorrow morning." Allen was shocked. He didn't expect his first mission to come so soon.

The twins raised their hands. "We wanna come to!" The Earl seemed suprised, but then he nodded in agreement.

"Very well, I don't see why not." Allen hardly realized what had been spoken. He was still in shock about what the Earl had said.

'Kill the operator if necessary...' Allen would do everything in his power to spare him. He nodded and bowed, as did Tyki and Lulubelle, and returned to his room.

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In a small, Irish village, Luciano de Fuego, half-Italian, half-Irish, looked up to the sky. He suddenly had a very bad feeling, but he didn't know why. He shrugged it off and turned to pick up his sister, Sophia.

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And that was chapter 9, done at last. No important questions, just the usual: How did you like it, what can I do better, was there something you especially liked, and any ideas for Cyril's Noah-memory? I apologize for grammar mistakes, as I mentioned before, English is not my native language. By the way, how do you like Jesaia's Innocence. It has way more power than what Ive revealed, but how's the first impression? (Since Ifrit is a fire spirit, I thought it was obvious what his Innocence can do.)

Also to Lord Edric: Enough destruction for you? I had planned on it, but they just didn't have enough time at their first meeting. Also, I don't think you've realized this, but before the school-week from hell, I was updating practically on a daily basis. Any faster and the quality will suffer. In fact, I will reduce my update speed to every two days at best, so that more people find time to review. But thank you for the review, I respect critics.

As you've seen in this chapter, I try to fulfill requests from my reviewers, as long as it doesn't interrupt my story. I've described Lenalee's Innocence, raised havoc with Lavi and Jesaia and tried to sucker Levrier. I'm still working on the twists, it's not as easy as it sounds. In the end, an author is but a servant to his readers, so if you have a reasonable wish for this story, I will try to grant it. Ideas and characters are also appreciated.

All reviews but flames are welcome

Please review


	10. The Calm before the Storm

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not, have ever or will ever own DGM

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Luciano was thinking. Why had he suddenly felt that chill up his spine. He trusted his instincts, but this time, there had been nothing there to bother him. Well, besides the same old problem: money.

He and his sister 13 year old sister Sophia were an orphans. Their mother Claire had lived in this little village her entire life, and had always been proud of that. Their father Giuseppe had been a traveling merchant who had more or less accidentally stumbled into their village, though he had always called it fate. When their parents had met, it was love at first site, and not even five months later, they had married. Giuseppe had always been the most proud father in the world, and he had made sure his children would know how to help themselves. "We won't be around forever, and it's better you know how to take care of yourselves in case we're gone. I don't want neither of my children to be dependent on someone."

And they had learned to take care of themselves. Sophia was an excellent cook, and, amongst other things, knew how to clean. He himself had always been a jack-of-all-traits, and ever since his parents died in a car-crash, both he and his sister had worked hard to earn their living. He worked all sorts of odd-jobs in the village and the nearby towns, thankful they accepted a 16 year old helper, and sister worked in a beauty parlor in Dublin. The train station was thirty minutes away, if you had a bicycle, so Luciano always gave her a lift on his bike, and he always picked her up. He glanced at the clock on the town hall. "Damn it, I'm late!"

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Allen suddenly woke up and he was 100% sure why. Without opening his eyes, he loudly said "Road, please get off me."

"You're no fun, you know that?" Road's voice replied, while the weight on his body slowly lifted. Allen kept his eyes closed while he grabbed towards where he thought his shirt should be. Nothing.

"Are you going to make a habit out of using me as a trampoline when I'm asleep?"

"Hm, let me think. Yup, I think I will." He had expected that answer and opened his eyes to lecture her about simpler and less painful ways to wake someone up.

"Road, can't you..." He stopped talking. Road was sitting on his bed, wearing a short, almost see-through white nightgown. And from the looks of it, only that nightgown. He suddenly saw a mental picture of Cyril entering his room, seeing this picture and cruelly torturing Allen to his painful demise. He gulped. "Road, you do realize that if Cyril walks in here right now, I'm going to die a horrible death, right?" Road giggled.

"Don't worry, I've arranged things with Jasdevi. They'll keep a lookout for Cyril and if he comes, they'll..." But Allen didn't need any further explanation, as a loud explosion occurred right outside his door. Road looked up. "Well that's my cue." She pouted. "Way too soon. Well, see you soon, Allen." With that, she hugged Allen, opened one of her doors and left. Not even two seconds after Road's door vanished, the door to Allen's room flew open and Cyril stood in the doorway, foaming with rage and a rapier in his hand.

"ALLEN WALKER, HOW DARE YOU?!" Allen had no idea what was wrong with him, but he didn't have time to ask either, as he dodged the blade striking where his head had been a moment before. Cyril's blow slashed the pillow in half while Allen jumped out of the bed, only now noticing he had fallen asleep in his clothes. Well, that explained why he couldn't find his shirt. Tyki came running into Allen's room, directly followed by Jasdevi. Allen looked at them.

"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!" he called while he dodged a few slashes. Tyki summoned one of his Tease-shields and blocked the rapier aiming for Allen's throat.

"Well, the Earl wanted to talk to Cyril, but when Lulubelle found him, he was in a coma-phase, so she..." Allen had an ominous feeling.

"She what?" He asked while Jasdevi was trying to hold Cyril back as well. Tyki seemed really uncomfortable.

"You remember you taught us how to wake up Cyril?" Allen nodded. He had known that he would regret that someday. "Well, Lulubelle woke him up." Allen raised a brow.

"And?" This beating around the bush was not a good sign.

Tyki, who with Jasdevi's help had finally managed to disarm Cyril, sighed. "She, uhm, she said you were dating Road." Allen's face fell.

"Oh shit." While it explained everything, it was the worst thing that could have happened to Allen. Then he noticed Lulubelle was standing in the doorway.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Lulubelle didn't even flinch.

"The Earl has ordered for the mission to begin." She stated. Cyril used the momentary distraction to break free and lunge at Allen, who had a hard time keeping the man from his throat.

"As you can see, I'm a little busy right now, no thanks to you, so if you want this mission to begin anytime soon, or at all for that matter, maybe you could help me out of this mess you've caused." Allen gasped, since Cyril's fingers were almost at his throat.

Lulubelle simply walked up to them, grabbed Cyril by the collar, raised him up so they were eye-to-eye and used her free hand to slap him in the face. Cyril blinked.

"No one is dating Road, the Earl wants to speak to you and you're obstructing the beginning of a mission the Earl personally gave." Cyril seemed confused for a second then he nodded and left.

The others stared. "You have to teach me that." Tyki said "It would make him so much easier to deal with." Lulubelle didn't react.

"Let's go." Everyone followed her to the gate. On their way, they met the Earl and he called Lulubelle and the twins and gave them a short speech. Tyki used this moment to have a short talk with Allen.

"Look Allen," He began "you might have already figured it out, but this is something like your trail by fire. I was sent along as a helper, and Lulubelle is your watchdog. She'll keep things professional, so be thankful the Earl didn't send Cyril along. The twins tagged along because they like you, so count them as helpers as well. You don't have to cause a massacre or even kill anyone if it isn't necessary, but if you try to sabotage this, there will be hell to pay later. And neither Road, nor Jasdevi nor I will be able to help you then. Though should we meet exorcists, feel free to flee if you don't want to hurt them, as long as you grab the Innocence before you go." Allen nodded.

"Thanks for the warning, Tyki. But now let's go, before the others get suspicious." And with that, they turned and walked to the others, who finished their conversation with the Earl moments later, and passed the gate.

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"Yawn, so, what do we know about this mission?" Lavi asked. The member of CROW Levrier had added as an observer answered him.

"We have been able to listen to a call from a broker to the Earl. According to our information, the broker is a traveler, so the town we found him isn't necessary the town were the Innocence was spotted. We have pinpointed th location of the Innocence to a group of five villages, but we don't know in which one our target is. Thankfully, those villages are close enough together that we can pass all five in two days. Since we'll search the towns, it might take a little longer, but the broker apparently doesn't know the exact person either. So both sides have almost equal positions. The only advantage we have is that we know they're coming, but they don't know we are, so they'll probably take their time while we leave immediately." Lavi grunted.

That was exactly the problem. It was four o'clock in the morning and they were already leaving. Crowry smiled. "The sooner we find our new comrade, the sooner we can all rest, Lavi."

But Lavi knew Crowry was still blaming himself for being able to do so little to help Allen. He himself knew that feeling very well. Even Bookman had been disturbed by the news, in his case more about missing the chance to view a Noah's awakening. And even though he himself shouldn't feel any different, Lavi knew he'd lost a great friend. He could only hope that Lenalee was right, and that Allen would always be Allen.

"Lavi, stop daydreaming and come on, we're supposed to go!" Lenalee shouted impatient. Even though she tried to be her usual, cheerful self, you could see she was blaming herself for practically handing Allen over to the Earl. She seemed more determined than ever. Lavi smiled.

"Coming." 'And don't worry, Allen. By the time you can return to us, you'll find us just the way you left us. Well, with the exception that Jesaia and I might have finally succeeded in driving Levrier into a nervous breakdown.' And with that cheerful thought, Lavi stepped through their portal to start their search.

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"So, what's the plan?" Allen asked. The others stared at him. "What?"

Jasdevi called first "Allen, you look like a Noah-human mix!" Allen looked at his hands. Flesh-colored. He looked at his hair. Black. Weird.

"So, you're just like me." Tyki stated. Allen and the twins looked at him surprised. "Ever since Allen stabbed me, I can go into two new forms that are somewhere between Noah and human. In the first, I still have my skin-color, but my eyes are golden and my hair's a little darker. In the second, my eyes and hair stay human, but I get my gray skin-color. Oh, and neither form has the stigmata. And all thanks to Allen stabbing his sword through me." That last part seemed to hold some slight accusations, so Allen immediately shot back.

"And thanks to Tyki removing my arm and putting a hole in my heart, my Innocence got stronger. And thanks to him putting me in that vacuum, it got stronger again. We seem to be fated to strengthen each other in the most painful way possible, don't we, Tyki?" Tyki laughed.

"Touche. But to answer your question, since we're in Ireland, practically your turf, you're going to lead us around." Allen's smile froze.

"That's the plan? Tell me you're kidding." Everyone seemed surprised.

"No, this is completely serious. You are from around here." Lulubelle calmly stated.

Allen shook his head in disbelief. "Stick a fork in us, we're done."

"Do you refuse?" Lulubelle asked, but Tyki interrupted.

"Allen, is something wrong?" Allen sighed.

"As Lulubelle correctly stated, I'm from around here. In fact," He pointed at the shore "I'm from right across the ocean."

"What's the problem? Ireland is a part of Great Britain." Tyki asked while Allen simply sighed again.

"And why do you think it's called Ireland and not West-England?"

Tyki thought about it, then he said "Because it was once an independent nation?" Allen nodded.

"And how do you think England managed to get Ireland as a part of Britain? Just a hint, that wasn't decided at a tea-party."

Tyki was getting confused. "Well, England conquered it, what's your...oh."

"Oh is the right word. Ireland is not exactly best friends with England. Especially the smaller Irish villages. An Englishman can't have a soup there without someone spitting in it. Chances are, if we march in there playing British, the mob might beat us to a pulp, or try to, anyway."

Even Lulubelle seemed to accept that, since it was the truth. Jasdevi didn't seem happy at all. "So, what now?" Jasdero asked. Somehow, everyone ended up staring at Allen. He groaned.

"All right, all right. Fortunately, I come from the poor, working class of England." Everyone seemed confused, so he explained. "Since I'm practically a pauper suffering under England's harsh rule, I have a small chance of earning at least some of their respect."

Lulubelle seemed more than willing to take that chance. "Very well, let's go."

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Luciano was on his way back, his sister riding on the carrier, searching his backpack.

"Luciano, where did you get those apples?" Luciano was confused for a second, but then he realized what must have happened. Even with their hard work, they barely had enough to eat, so there were times when he had stolen from the market. Everyone knew it happened once in a while, but no one ever bothered him about it. In fact, since they knew he wouldn't accept charity, they small shop owners had become pretty good pickpockets themselves, but they didn't steal. Instead, when Luciano walked across the market square, he sometimes found food in his backpack that he couldn't remember putting there. Since it was just there, it wasn't really charity, but it was desperately needed. So they had managed to sneak some food in his pack again, and he had no idea how. Sophia giggled.

"Ah, from there." Then she hugged him. Luciano smiled. Then he saw a group of people on a path to his left. Five really weird people. Then he shrugged. Not like that had anything to do with him.

Then they reached their home, a old, abandoned house they had found. There was no electricity or running water, but that was rare in such villages anyway. Luciano knew the kind old owners had stopped bothering trying to sell the house when they had 'moved in', but they would leave if anyone complained. But for now, this was their home. He dropped Sophia off, looked at the bracelet their mother had given him as a birthday present and left for his job at the bakery.

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Allen and the others had somehow managed to get a few rooms in an inn, thanks to Tyki explaining them as Portuguese tourists. Now it was time to search for the Innocence. The market seemed like a good place to start the search. But so far, they weren't any closer to the Innocence as when they had been in the arc. Not that Allen minded. If he'd have any say in this, he'd let whoever was owning the Innocence keep it and go his merry way, but sadly, that was not an option here. Then someone ran into him, knocking him to the ground.

"Ouch, sorry, didn't see you." The boy called. Allen stood up and smiled.

"No problem, nothing happened." The boy looked at him, distrust and a bit of disgust were in his voice.

"Are you a Brit?" Allen made a face, he knew what was going to happen and signaled the others to stay out of it.

"Yes, I am." He felt the cold looks of the entire village on him as the boy's face darkened.

"Damn Brit, leave." Allen decided for a direct approach.

"And you're Italian. What are you doing here?"

"I'm half-Italian, half-Irish and both sides of me hate you." The boy growled.

"I don't give a damn about what your halves think of me." Allen coldly replied.

"And what is a British pansy like you doing here in the first place?" Allen knew the only chance to get any respect now was to not back down. Something told him this would end in a brawl.

"First of all, I'm no pansy, you poor imitation of an Irish-boy. And secondly, I'm looking for something."

"Well look somewhere else, before I kick you out!" Allen made a humored face.

"You and what army, spaghetti?" the answer was a blow to Allen's cheek. The dam was broken and the brawl had begun. Allen had known it would come to this.

After a few minutes of rolling on the floor, while the other Noah were simply staring at the fight and the village cheering for the boy while the twins were cheering for Allen, a loud voice interrupted the chaos.

"Brother! What are you doing?!" The boy immediately let go of Allen and looked like he was caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

"Sis, I was just...What are you doing here?" The girl, even though younger than her brother, seemed to have total control over him.

"You were supposed to be home ten minutes ago, so I was worried. Then I heard that you were brawling with a stranger." She looked at Allen "Are you alright?"

Allen wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth and grinned. "I'm fine, just a discussion amongst men." The boy grinned while his sister rolled her eyes.

"Boys! Why can't they talk things out instead of bashing their faces in to declare brotherhood?"

Allen smiled. "Well my new blood brother, my name is Allen Walker." The other boy shook hands.

"I'm Luciano de Fuego and this is my sister Sophia."

The girl, Sophia, smiled at them. "Tomorrow is a free day for me and Luciano, so why don't we spend some time together then?" Allen looked at them and grinned.

"On one condition." Luciano looked confused. "What?" He asked and Allen replied: "Food's on me."

The siblings laughed and smiled and waved goodbye. Lulubelle looked very upset when Allen called "By the way, nice bracelet." Luciano looked at his wrist and the Noah stared at it as well. A green crystal was sparkling in the center.

"It's a gift from my deceased parents." He then said. "See you tomorrow."

When the Noah had left the square, Tyki looked at Allen. "That bracelet..."

"Yes, I think it's Innocence." Allen calmly replied. 'But not the heart' something inside of him said. Lulubelle nodded.

"So, why the fight? And why a draw? You could have beaten him to a pulp even without your Innocence or Noah powers." Lulubelle asked.

"It wasn't about winning, I was earning the respect of the villagers. If I had beaten Luciano, it would have been an insult, had I lost, I would be seen as a wimp. This was the best result. And it was kinda fun." Tyki grinned.

"But will you have enough food until tomorrow?" Allen was balancing a tower of bags from the market in his hands.

"It will do." Allen said, completely ignoring the sarcastic tone in Tyki's voice. Now all they could do was wait for tomorrow.

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"Did you hear? There was a brawl in the neighboring village between a boy from the village and a stranger." "Really? Tell me more about it."

Lenalee listened up and turned to her comrades. "Should we check there next?" Lavi shrugged.

"We might as well. Not like we have any better leads. By the way, has someone seen our CROW?"

Crowry answered. "He said something about being an observer and simply watching us, so he went to watch from afar."Lavi snorted.

"Typical. But since we're fairly certain that the Innocence isn't here, we might as well check it out."

"How long will it take to reach it?" Crowry asked. Lavi, who had memorized the map, thought about it for a second, then he replied "If we finish searching this town, we should be there tomorrow afternoon."

"Then we should look around if we really have to make that walk." Lenalee decided.

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Allen yawned. It was nice waking up because you just woke up, not because someone used you as a speed-bag. When he looked around, he saw a black cat with a white star on it's forehead laying on the table at the window. He knew that cat.

"Don't you have your own room, Lulubelle?" The cat simply stood up and left his room.

"_**If I'm not mistaken, she was there to make sure you don't make a run for it during the night."**_ The musician suggested.

'That's just silly. Where should I run to with both the order and the Earl on my tail?' Allen thought.

"_**You're right."**_ The musician agreed _**"It's more likely she wanted to make sure you didn't warn that Luciano." **_That made sense. Lulubelle had noticed Allen kind of liked the boy and wanted to make sure Allen wouldn't advise him to make a run for it during the night.

"Well, almost time for the meeting, so let's get this over with." And hopefully, without any casualties.

Luciano had picked them up, and after a small meal, Allen had restrained himself in order not to shock Luciano and Sophia, the siblings showed them across town. They were in a rather lonely area at the end of town, apparently close to where Luciano and Sophia lived, when they spotted some travelers coming their way.

"It looks like our village is getting popular. I don't think so many people ever came here in such short time before." Luciano called, apparently in a good mood. Allen on the other hand suddenly got a very bad feeling. Something was about to happen. And it wasn't good.

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The exorcists had almost reached the village, when they saw a group of people walking and chatting. At first, they didn't think much of it, but then Crowry, who had the sharpest eyes, froze. He pointed at the group.

"At least two of them are Noah, I've fought them in the Arc." Everyone stared and indeed recognized the long blond hair of one of the twin Noah. Lavi cursed.

"The others are most likely other Noah or Akuma. But since they were talking and chatting, I'm guessing the unsuspecting Innocence-user is among them. Okay, we attack them. The Noah and Akuma will fight us, and all others will escape. Wait, I know that Noah." Lavi had looked closer "Oh shit. That one can go through anything but Innocence and has some kind of berserker-form. That black haired kid looks kinda familiar as well. Doesn't matter, for now let's go!"

They started to run, while a triple shout of "Innocence activate!" could be heard.

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Allen's eyes widened as Jasdevi pointed to the group and shouted "AH, IT'S THE VAMPIRE!" and drew their guns. Tyki seemed to spot someone he knew as well.

"Well well, if it isn't the hammer-boy. Allen, you might want to get them out of here." Allen nodded, while completely aware of what Tyki was saying. Grab the Innocence and see if you can crush it, if not run away, if yes, tell the others and then run away. He grabbed Luciano and Sophia by the wrists.

"Hurry, we have to get out of here!" Allen shouted while pulling them away from the soon-to-be battlefield. When he turned around, he saw that Crowry, Lavi and Lenalee were dashing towards the Noah and him. 'I hope no one gets hurt.' He thought, but he knew how unlikely that was. He could only pray that there would be no casualties.

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Chapter 10 is complete. Took longer than I thought, but the good news is that my spring holidays start next week and I'll have more time. I actually wanted to start the fight in this chapter, but the story turned out longer than I thought. Well, next chapter I'll write my first real combat scene. Wish me luck.

To Starforce119: 1. Around 30 minutes 2. My pleasure 3. Yes they are, but I use the names where I think they explain best 4. All in due time, but why don't you take a guess? Same goes to everyone else, that's why I gave you the names.

To Lord Edric: That would be fun, but I don't think I'm good enough for crossovers yet. And even if, then not in this story, so far, I don't plan to make this a crossover. And good luck with your major.

By the way, could I please get some feedback about Jesaia's Innocence? I want to know what you thought about it. My next update will probably be on Friday or Saturday, so until then, goodbye and thank you for reading and hopefully reviewing.

Please Review


	11. A Clash of Powers

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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Jasdevi fired a _Red Bomb_ at Crowry, who dodged it and dashed towards them. Jasdevi barely avoided the bloody claws aimed at their heads. When they turned to spot him, Crowry was dangerously close, so they blocked him with the first thing that came to mind.

"_Jasdevi's Hate_!" The monster of blood and corpses rose and Crowry got stuck in its body for a second, before he managed to break free, just as Jasdevi tried to freeze him with a _Blue Bomb_. It missed him, but hit the monster, which immediately froze. Crowry took the opportunity and smashed it.

"Hey, no fair!" The twins shouted. Suddenly, Crowry was in between them and grabbed them by the throats.

"Everything is fair in a fight, you brats!" He called, his black eyes showing anger and annoyance. Suddenly, the twins grinned.

"If you say so." They called, before shouting "Red Bomb!" Crowry looked down and saw the gun barrels were both pointing at his chest.

"Oh crap!" He managed to call before a fireball engulfed him and knocked him away from the twins, who were snickering.

"Kuro-chan, Are you okay?" Lavi shouted, before the Tease Tyki held in his hand almost bit his nose off.

"Don't you think you should be more worried about yourself, hammer-boy?" He asked while sinking into the ground to avoid a hammer strike. Once it had harmlessly passed over his head, he used his now lower position to strike at Lavi's legs. Lavi managed to jump out of the way and used his hammer to strike a blow at Tyki. Tyki raised his Tease-shields and blocked, but the sheer force of the blow flung him out of the ground and into the air. There, he turned midair and shot towards Lavi like a bullet.

Lavi was prepared. "Level 2 activate. _Konbo Ban: Gouraiten_!" The giant serpent shot in the air and Tyki cursed. He aborted his charge and focused on evading the giant snake. But Lavi wasn't finished. "Hi Ban: Gouka Kaijin " Three flaming snakes shot towards Tyki.

Tyki rejected the air below him to create a vacuum and the fire-snakes vanished. "Good, but not good enough. Fire doesn't burn if there is no air." He mocked. Then he noticed the annoying brat had used another seal while he was distracted. Suddenly, Tyki was hit by a few obviously Innocence-caused lightning strikes and tumbled down to earth. He managed to catch himself a few feet before the ground. "Really, not bad."

Lenalee was busy dodging the blade-whips Lulubelle's arms had transformed to. Since they were aimed at her neck, there wasn't enough time to defend with her Innocence. Then she heard Lavi call her.

"Lenalee, you go after the other ones that ran away, there still might be an Akuma, or worse, a Noah among them! We'll hold these guys off. Go, you're the fastest!" Lenalee nodded and jumped.

"Oh no you don't!" Lulubelle called and her whip-hand wrapped itself around Lenalee's ankle. Lulubelle was about to pull her back down, when she suddenly screamed in pain. Lenalee's ankle was free and the girl dashed through the air, looking for the runaways, while Lulubelle fell to her knees holding her hand, which had returned to the form of her normal hand, in pain. Tyki and Jasdevi jumped beside her while Lavi and Crowry used the short break to catch their breath.

"Lulubelle, what's wrong? You sounded like you were..." Tyki grew silent as he saw what was wrong. Blue sparks were shooting over her hand, it looked like blue lightnings were jumping around on it. "What the hell is that?!" But he knew the answer. The Order had tried something on the Innocence, and whatever it was, it was working. This could mean trouble, especially if it worked on Akuma as well. The sparks were slowly disappearing, and Lulubelle could move her hand again. But still, if a second of intended contact did this much, how much damage would a full-blown kick do? Then he realized something. 'Shit, she's going after Allen!' He turned to his siblings.

"Lulubelle, can you fight?" Lulubelle nodded. "Okay, can you take the boy with the hammer? Jasdevi, you take the other one."

David nodded, but Jasdero asked "And what about you, Tyki?" Tyki looked serious.

"I'm going after the girl before she can seriously hurt Allen." They nodded.

"Let's do it!"

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The CROW was talking to Levrier. "Yes, the girl's Innocence works even better than we hoped. But still, there are at least three Noah here, possibly more. They'll be overrun if they don't receive backup. Wait, one of the Noah is going after Lenalee Lee. I believe it's Tyki Mikk. Should the operation begin?"

"No." Levrier replied "There are too many Noah how might come to his aid, and we only have one try. I will send Harlequin, Nocturn and Kanda."

"So Kanda has returned already?"

"Indeed, and now prepare a gate for their arrival." Levrier ordered.

"Understood. I shall continue observation." The CROW replied.

"Do that. And inform me if anything unexpected happens."

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Meanwhile, Allen was pulling Luciano and Sophia by their wrists. While running, he turned to the two.

"We need a place to hide!" Luciano seemed to awaken from his shock. He used his free hand to point at an old building.

"We live there." Allen ran towards the building. But now Luciano was awake, he wanted answers. "What's going on? Why are these guys attacking us?"

"I'll explain later." They reached the entrance. Suddenly, he felt something in his left arm. He pushed the siblings forward. "Hide your sister and yourself, but in different locations, hurry!" With that he spun around, activated his Innocence and used his left arm to block a kick from above that was aimed at his head.

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Lenalee was certain that boy wasn't human. He had recovered from his shock of seeing things like her boots and Lavi's hammer appear from seemingly nothing, and more importantly, the Noah's transformation, much to quickly for a normal person. She had almost reached him, when something white covered him as he spun to face her and blocked her kick. She saw the boy's face, now Noah-gray, and she recognized the scar, even though it looked a little different. "Allen." she whispered. And then they both screamed in agony.

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Allen somehow manged to rise his arm and throw Lenalee off, then the arm just hanged there, limp and covered in blue sparks up to the elbow. Lenalee was leaning on a fence, unable to use her right leg for support as it was covered in red sparks. They both ignored the pain and looked at each other. Lenalee spoke first.

"Allen, is it really you?" Allen smiled sadly.

"Yes, it's me. I forgot to tell you this, but thank you for saving my life. How have you been? How are the others?" Lenalee started to cry.

"Everyone's fine, but what are you doing? Why are you helping..." She couldn't finish. Was the Allen she knew really gone? Allen sighed.

"I'm not quite sure how I ended up here myself, but I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't want anyone to die because someone is too ruthless either." He sounded sincere.

"Allen, has anything changed since you became a Noah?" She asked, not knowing if she could take the answer.

Allen looked at his skin. "You mean besides the obvious stuff? No, I guess being Noah's compassion doesn't change you too much." Lenalee was relieved. Allen was still Allen. And from what she heard, Allen had gotten a piece of Noah's memories that hated sorrow and suffering, so he wouldn't turn into a monster. He would just be Allen. Her leg was fully functional, as was Allen's claw, so Lenalee asked one last question.

"Why are you after the Innocence?" Allen suddenly just knew there were people who were listening to their talk so he silently mouthed: _Watchdog_

Lenalee understood. At least one of the Noah here had come along to keep an eye on him so he couldn't help his friends. Then Tyki showed up.

"And here I was worried she might kill you, Allen. You two seem to get along just fine. You're a real ladies-man, aren't you?" Lenalee turned around. Was he a watchdog? But Allen just smiled.

"And you're pretty rude, to scare a lady like that." Tyki grinned and shrugged. Lenalee understood this man wasn't a watchdog, but they couldn't just wait here until he or she showed up and spotted them chatting instead of fighting. Tyki seemed to have similar thoughts.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to fight you now, young lady. Should I kill you, please know it's nothing personal." He summoned a large Tease in each hand. Lenalee got ready for combat.

"The same message back to you with a thank-you note." She replied. Allen, who had backed towards the door, looked at the Tease.

"Tyki, have I ever mentioned that I hate these things and never want to see another one in my life?" Tyki grinned.

"I guess you can't find it in your heart to forgive them, eh Allen? But for now, how about you go talk to your friend?"

"Very funny, Tyki. I'm going, I'm going." And with that, Allen had vanished in the house and Lenalee and Tyki began their fight.

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The CROW had seen everything, even though he didn't understand the words spoken. But he was no idiot, and there was only one white cape like that.

"We may have a problem." He informed his superior. Levrier was not pleased.

"What kind of problem? Reinforcements are almost there, they should be able to hold out until then."

"Sir, this is not about that, there is another Noah in the village. It's Allen Walker." Levrier cursed. He hadn't expected the boy to awaken this soon.

"Did he attack the exorcists?"

"No sir, he just blocked exorcist Lee's attack with his Innocence." Levrier didn't believe his ears.

"Are you telling me Allen Walker's Innocence is not only existent, but operational?" He had expected the Innocence to kill the boy, or at least that the Earl would destroy it before it could do that. How had this happened? Then something else hit him. "Wait, you said he blocked exorcist Lee's attack? Was there no backlash?"

"There was, and Walker seemed unable to move his hand," The CROW answered. Levrier sighed. At least he could be taken out. And who could have guessed the purer Innocence would paralyze Noah as well? But then the CROW added one word that was never good. "but..."

"But what?"

"While the backlash worked perfectly on the Noah that attacked Headquarters, when exorcist Lee attacked Walker, for some reason she received an equal backlash." That was not good news. Was there a problem with the Innocence?

"What is going on now?" The Crow calmly replied.

"After the initial attack, there was a moment of truce when they were simply talking, though I could not understand what they said. It's possible that was just a way to delay until they're weapons were usable again. Then the Noah Tyki showed up and he and exorcist Lee are currently fighting, while he is also receiving the backlashes, though this time there is no retaliation-backlash." Levrier nodded. If that was the case, then it was more likely that Walker's Noah powers, whatever they may be, were the reason for that abnormality. Then the CROW spoke once more.

"The gate has opened and I can see the Reinforcements swarming to the battlefield." Levrier smiled. Perhaps this could mean the end of another Noah.

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Lavi was practically hanging in the ropes when Jesaia appeared next to him. Lulubelle had taken on a liquid form and was immune to most of his attacks, while her solid whip-arms now looked more like a saw. There were short, serrated blades growing on all four sides of it and Lavi was certain that if that thing wrapped itself around a limb and was pulled back, it would slice the limb off like a twig. Worst of all, Lavi could hardly fight back. His fire-based attacks still worked, but Lavi literally just didn't have enough firepower. But with Jesaia here, that had changed.

"Where were you? I could have really used your help. what were you doing while I was risking my ass, taking a nap?" Lavi greeted, but he was grinning.

Jesaia was also grinning."Well, I'm here now. And is it my fault you're such a wimp? WOW, that was close!" One of Lulubelle's whips had barely missed his head. Ifrit was activated and Jesaia locked his hands together above his head. The flames grew and Jesaia brought them down, as if hitting someone in front of him. He shouted "_Inferno Hammer!_" and a pillar of flames shot forward and hit Lulubelle square in the chest. Almost half of the water evaporated while Lulubelle cried out in pain. Then, Valkyrie was standing behind Lavi and Jesaia.

"I will support. Innocence activate, _Divine_." she stated in her usual voice and a small transverse flute appeared in her hands. She raised it to her lips. "Level 2 activate: _Melody of __Hephaestus_"

Jesaia suddenly felt a power surge and Lavi noticed it as well, though not as powerful. Even though Lulubelle didn't notice any change, she was careful and tried to withdraw, but Jesaia would not let this end so soon. He was pissed because Levrier had shouted at him and this weird water-metal-creature seemed like the perfect thing to vent his anger on. He turned around and slammed his fists into the ground.

"_Ifrit Prison!_" The fire from his hands shot sideways with a slight bend and as they united behind Lulubelle, they had formed a circle. That circle then shot its flames towards the sky and Lavi, Valkyrie, Jesaia and Lulubelle were trapped in an orb of fire. Jesaia turned to the Noah-monster.

"Thanks to the boost Val gave me, we're all trapped in here for twenty minutes before the flames go out and during that time, not even I can leave here that easily, so let's continue." He knew that thanks to Val's boost, both his and Lavi's flame-based attacks would be at least four times as powerful as normal, so their chances for victory were better than ever.

Then Lulubelle turned back into her normal form and Jesaia whistled. She was _HOT_! But her smile was kinda creepy.

"Thank you for this information, but I don't have that much time." With that, Lulubelle turned, ran towards the wall of fire and jumped. Just before she reached it, her body turned to steel and she passed the blazing barrier unharmed. Jesaia cursed.

"Shit, she suckered us!" Lavi looked at him.

"Can't you undo this?" Jesaia didn't look at him.

"Normally yes, but these boosted flames are more difficult to control. It could take up to five minutes to form a safe passage for us."

"Then you better get going." Lavi advised. Jesaia turned to the flames and focused.

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Meanwhile, Jasdevi was having trouble facing off against both Crowry and Kanda. They were hard to hit and dangerous as hell. David just barely dodged Kanda's blade.

"Che, hold still!" But David was looking at his hair. Kanda had severed a few strands.

"He cut my hair! I hate him!" Jasdero turned his eyes towards his sibling.

"Shut up! We have bigger trouble right now!" And he was right. Both Kanda and Crowry had used the opportunity to dash at them. The twins shouted "_The Earl from when he was laughing but really pissed!_" and their memory of the Earl appeared, slashing his sword at the exorcists. Kanda blocked, but was thrown back by the force of the strike while Crowry, already familiar with the phantom's strength, simply dodged. Jasdevi used this chance to fire at will.

"This is like shooting fish in a barrel!" Jasdero laughed, as the exorcists couldn't retaliate because of the fake Earl. Then Kanda found a gap in the defense and fired his _Hells Insects_ at them. David got a scratch on the arm, but that was all it needed. The concentration was broken and the Earl froze for a second while Crowry and Kanda dashed in for the kill. Jasdevi retreated and Jasdero mocked Crowry.

"What's wrong, why don't you strengthen yourself, you vampire monster? Could it be you're out of blood?"

"You should be more worried about me." A voice behind them said. As they turned around, they saw Kanda had managed to get behind them, _Nigentou_ activated. Then he used his two blades to slash at the twins.

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"It appears both Mikk and exorcist Lee have entered the building to get the Innocence." The CROW informed Levrier. Lenalee had used the paralysis she caused Noah to suddenly rush into the building, which was, even though abandoned, one of the bigger houses of the village. Not that it still wasn't small, but there would be a few hiding places and the CROW had heard that there was a large cellar. The Noah had immediately disappeared, but it was more than likely he was also going for the Innocence. Now the only question was, who would find it first and who would get it in the end.

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Allen had found Luciano and was forced to explain. While he left out some key details, he summed the basic story up in a nutshell.

"So let me get this straight." Luciano said after Allen had finished "There is a war going on with mankind at stake. Dead people called back by loved ones are being used as weapons." Allen nodded. "And there is this stuff called Innocence, which is the only weapon that works against these soldiers, but it somehow got spread over the world. Only special people can use it and your coat and claw-arm are made of that stuff and you think _my bracelet_ is Innocence and I'm one of those special people as well, right?" Allen sighed.

"You must think I'm crazy." Luciano nodded.

"You're British, of course you're crazy. If you would have told me this yesterday, I would have laughed at you, but after all I've seen today, this story makes about as much sense as anything else that has happened." Allen grinned as well, even though this cellar wasn't exactly an amusing place. Then Luciano looked at Allen. "So how can I activate this so we can beat the bad guys?"

Suddenly, Tyki phased through the floor and was standing behind Luciano, a large Tease in his hand.

"What makes you think we're the good guys?" He asked while he put the Tease in Luciano's chest. Just like with Allen, the Tease bit a hole in the boy's heart and this time his lungs as well and Luciano collapsed, a surprised expression still etched on his face as blood started to pour from his mouth.

Tyki looked at Allen, who had caught Luciano and was simply staring in shock. "I'm sorry, but there was no other choice." Allen stared at him and he nodded to his left. There was Lulubelle, standing and observing what had happened. A moment later, Lenalee appeared with a cry of rage and sorrow and kicked Lulubelle through the ceiling. She seemed enraged when she turned to Tyki, tears for the boy on her face. Tyki sighed.

"I didn't want to do this, but I have no choice." He took off his gloves and opened his collar. He turned to Allen, who was still holding Luciano, tears on his face as well. "Take care of the Innocence, or the Earl will kill you!" He advised. Stigmata appeared on the revealed skin and a moment later, Tyki had turned into his demon-knight form and smashed into Lenalee, dragging her through the roof and disappearing from Allen's sight.

Allen just sat there, looking at the once so lively boy, now broken. He activated Crown Clown, even though he didn't really know why, and reached for the bracelet. His claws sunk in the crystal, as if he had put his hand through the surface of a small pond. He felt something hard and pulled it out. He held the Innocence in his clawed hand. The once green crystal in the bracelet turned to a dim gray.

"_**Impressive."**_ The musician stated _**"But I doubt you'll be able to do that with as long as the contractor of the Innocence still has strength left in him."**_ Allen didn't care. He just looked at the Innocence. 'Because of this little thing Luciano lost his life. Without any real reason, just because he had it. It's not fair. It's not right. This shouldn't have happened to you, Luciano. I'm sorry I couldn't help you.' He thought while crying. Then he clenched his left hand that was still holding the Innocence to a fist. Allen heard a cracking noise and a bright red light shone from his hand. Then it was over. Allen opened his hand, suddenly feeling a bit exhausted. The Innocence was still laying there, but it had changed. Allen suddenly knew it had become similar to his Crown Clown. Not like it, just similar. He stood up and looked at Luciano.

Surprisingly, the boy was still alive. Some immense force of will was keeping his destroyed heart pumping and forcing his lungs to do something they no longer could, but Allen knew the boy was just delaying the inevitable. In less than two minutes at most, Luciano de Fuego would be dead. If only Allen could somehow save him. And then something clicked in Allen's mind.

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From one of the freshly made holes in the ceiling of the cellar, Sophia was watching. She hadn't seen what had happened, but she could see her brother laying there, blood flowing from his mouth and his gaze growing dim. She could see the other boy, Allen, crying while looking at her brother. This couldn't be true. She had prayed to god everyday for her brother's safety. Why had he abandoned them? Then she saw Allen seemed to try and do something, as he kneeled besides her brother. She wished with all her heart that it worked, even if she would have to sell her soul to make it work!

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When Kanda had tried to slash the twins, that fake Earl had deflected the blow and pushed him back. The twins sighed in relief.

"That was too close." David said and Jasdero nodded. Then the noticed something to their right, close to that weird fireball on the ground. They pointed their guns at it and fired five _Blue Bombs_ at it. Those five shots, somehow a bit weaker than they should be, collided with a pillar of fire and they canceled each other out. The twins saw that three more exorcists were storming at them. Five against two, this was not looking good. Just as the five, well four, the black haired girl was just standing in the background, exorcists were about to attack, an explosion took everyone's attention. They could see Lenalee fighting some armored creature that didn't seem bothered by the amount of blue sparks covering it. The twins reacted first. They pointed their guns at each other and shot. By the time the exorcists regained their focus, they were facing the Noah of Bonds, Jasdevi.

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"I believe we are seeing the armored form of Tyki Mikk that was mentioned in a few reports, and it seems to be somewhat resistant to the backlashes of the Crystal Boots. Also, those two Noah that were always together have merged and are causing a lot of damage to the other exorcists."

"That's not good." Levrier stated. This was the second Noah had shown some sort of resistance to their main weapon against them. "What about the Innocence?" The CROW hesitated.

"I apologize sir, but it is fairly safe to assume that it has been destroyed by now."

Levrier nodded. Even if the Innocence wasn't destroyed yet, they were not prepared to fight two Noah in their ultimate forms. "Order a retreat, there is nothing we can do now. We will go through the footage the golems gathered and we might find a few weaknesses we can use. But for now, we don't have enough information. It's a shame exorcist Lee couldn't have receive her own golem before she had entered the house, I would have liked to hear her discussion with the Noah, but we still might get some information, as long as we get the golems before they are destroyed."

The CROW nodded and gave a retreat order through the wireless golems.

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Allen spoke to the barely-living Luciano, unaware that both Sophia and Lulubelle were watching him.

"Luciano, I know you can hear me, so listen closely. You have two choices. You can die here peacefully as a human, or we can make a pact that might save your life, but turn you into an enemy of mankind. What do you choose?" In the back of his mind, Allen wondered what was going on. He knew this would work, but how could it?

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Allen's words had reached Luciano even in his world of sheer agony. He didn't care about mankind, he would not leave his sister alone. With all his strength, he raised his arm as high as he could, asking Allen to seal the contract. 'I will sell my soul to the devil, as long as I don't have to abandon my sister like this!' He thought, before a wave of unbelievable pain emanated from his forehead.

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Allen saw Luciano's right hand raising half a foot, and shook it with his right. Then he put his index-claw, Crown Clown was still activated, on Luciano's forehead. For a second, nothing happened, then four small pillars shot over Luciano's forehead, one left, one right, one up and one down. When they stopped moving, Allen was holding his claw in the center of a stigmata. The gray skin-tone spread over Luciano's body in seconds, mending his heart and lungs and even replacing the lost blood. Then Luciano opened his golden eyes and stood up. On first sight, one would thought him an ordinary Noah, but a second glance revealed that while Noah' stigmata formed a sort of crown on their heads, Luciano only had the one stigmata Allen created.

Lulubelle was surprised, to say the least. She didn't expect this to happen. What was Allen Walker's power? Then, he turned to her and threw something.

"Catch!" He shouted and Lulubelle grabbed it out of the air. When she saw what it was, she almost dropped it. It was Innocence! But then she noticed the usual uncomfortable feeling she had when she touched Innocence wasn't there. She threw it back to him.

"I will go ahead and report to the Earl, you help Jasdevi to calm down Tyki, then you'll follow." Allen nodded and ran up the stairs while Lulubelle somehow vanished. Luciano followed Allen, still not sure what was going on.

On the top of the staircase, Allen ran into Sophia. She didn't give him time to say anything.

"I'm coming with you. I've seen what you did to my brother, but you can't just take him away from me like this. I heard what you said about that pact, humanity can go to hell for all I care, just don't take my brother from me!"Her voice had become shaky and Allen knew she was begging him to not just vanish with her brother.

"_**I don't think you can convince her to leave, she's determined."**_ The musician said and Allen agreed. He sighed and raised his left hand. Sophia shook it and the gray crawled up her arm and formed that single stigmata on her forehead. Then they left to stop Tyki.

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The exorcists had retreated trough their gate and Jasdevi's only problem was to stop Tyki without hurting him. Tyki had flung him into buildings twice and seemed to get ready to do it a third time when something white shot up and restricted Tyki's movement. Jasdevi saw that Allen had wrapped Tyki up in _Clown Belt_ and quickly reinforced it with some of his hair. Then they dragged him through their gate, Jasdevi hardly noticing the two children that followed them.

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The Earl was not pleased. After he had awoken Tyki, he turned to Allen.

"Lulubelle told me some interesting things, Allen, but we'll discuss that tomorrow. For now, you and those two go to your room and stay there, you'll be watched by an Akuma."

Allen had received a punch to the stomach by Tyki and was equally upset. "What, now you'll send a Level 7 as my watchdog?" The Earl sighed.

"I'd love to, but there are no Akuma above Level 4, so that's what you get. I've tried to raise their Level, but it didn't work." Allen was curious.

"Why not?"

The Earl sighed. "You've seen the soul of a Level 4, right?" Allen nodded. It was the most horrible thing he had ever seen. "Trying to go any further leads to the soul getting lost in the dark and the Akuma turning into a useless, fragile lump of Dark-Matter that breaks when it comes in contact with Innocence. It just doesn't work. Now leave."

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Allen had been locked away for hours, the Level 4 guarding the exit. He had activated Crown Clown and hid in the cape. Then Luciano spoke.

"So, we're now on the side of evil, trying to eliminate mankind, huh?" Allen smiled sadly.

"Our pact made you mankind's enemy, I never said mankind was yours. Personally, I don't like the idea of destroying humanity that much, which is why we're locked in here." Luciano raised a brow.

"So, who was the fat marshmallow with the hat?" Allen grinned.

"You were observing the Millennium Earl, leader of this war against humanity and the one who makes those deals were people call their loved ones back and get killed by them."

"Sounds like he's a pretty big asshole." Luciano stated.

"Though you should refrain from calling him either of those names when he's around, he's much more powerful than you'll ever be." Luciano wasn't convinced.

"And you know that because...?"

"Because I have fought him if you must know." They both stared at him. Sophia spoke first.

"So, you were once one of the good guys?" Allen didn't look at her.

"Yup, that's right. In fact, had you told me I'd be sitting here a few weeks ago, I would have laughed you in the face. Things change pretty quickly, don't they?" Sophia seemed shocked.

"What happened?" Allen sighed.

"Well, long story short, one of the "good guys" ordered my execution, buddies got me out in time, Tyki, you know him," Allen pointed at Luciano, who's face darkened "found me and brought me here. That's it in a nutshell." Luciano was confused.

"Why didn't you fight back?" Allen looked at him.

"How did it feel when you became what you are now?" Luciano thought about it for a minute, then he answered.

"It was by far the most painful thing I have ever experienced, why?" Sophia nodded. It had hurt like nothing she had ever felt and she never wanted to feel like that again. Ever.

"Now imagine it was twice as bad, and would last days, not seconds. Are you still wondering why I didn't fight back?" The siblings had paled and shook there heads in unison. A few seconds had driven them to the edge of madness. They could imagine bearing that pain for minutes, let alone days.

Then Luciano remembered something. "By the way, even though I'm grateful that you've saved my life and see nothing wrong with serving under you, don't expect me to crawl before your feet, got that?" Allen grinned.

"No Irishman will ever kneel to a Brit unless you blast off his kneecaps, huh?" Both Luciano and Sophia grinned as well.

"Ah, so you know. Great, then we'll get along just fine. But, what is going to happen now?" It was a good question. But Allen had so few answers.

"Well, I'm going to get chewed out for not killing you when I had the chance, then we'll decide what will happen to you two." When he saw their nervous expressions, he smiled and added "Don't worry, I doubt you'll get killed, in fact, Luciano here might become some sort of leader of the infantry, _if_ he can keep this Innocence." Allen pulled the Innocence out of his pocket and Luciano looked at his bracelet.

"You better know how to put that back in. I don't care about the color the gem will get, as long as it isn't that dead gray. Have you no respect for mementos?" Allen raised his hands in defense at the boy's sudden outburst.

"Hey, I thought you'd die and didn't need it anymore. And don't worry, I'm pretty sure it's reversible." Luciano sighed in relief.

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Lenalee used the few minutes they were not under observation and whispered to Lavi and Crowry

"Later, let's meet in the infirmary, Miranda and Timothy should hear this as well. It's about Allen."

The two immediately nodded in agreement. This sounded like good news, or at least, not like bad news.

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Allen was getting bored. He knew it was only a matter of time before Road ditched Cyril and showed up here, but if that was a good thing he wasn't sure. If only he could go outside, but the Akuma at the door made that impossible. He sighed and looked to the Level 4. Suddenly it clicked in his head again. Faster than he himself had thought possible Allen had stood up, reached the Akuma and put his index-claw on the tip of the lowest part of the star on the Akuma's forehead. He made a small, half-circle motion upwards and to his surprise, the star turned with his finger. Allen could feel something going over to the Akuma as the 'living' weapon of mass destruction started to twitch and bend while Allen's finger seemed glued to the shape-shifting lump. The siblings looked up in interest. Allen activated his eye and was astonished at what he was seeing. White sparks coming from his arm were covering the soul of the Akuma and somehow carving away the darkness that surrounded it. It started looked like a man with long hair when the soul merged with the lump. It seemed to reorganize itself and then a man was kneeling in front of Allen. He had long black hair and snow-white skin. His Irises were white and where a normal humans eyes would be white, his were black. He was muscled and bare-chested, but the most remarkable thing where the two blood-red angel wings on the man's back. They were also the only part of him that had any color. Allen gulped.

"Who are you?" The creature looked at him and opened his mouth. His teeth were black and his tongue was white.

"I am Level 5"

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And chapter 11 is done! Longest one yet, exactly 6000 words of story, I got carried away. Don't expect them to always be this long, they won't. I guess I need to explain a few things.

1. Allen can't make Noah, I'll give more details next chapter. He won't use this to raise an army, I've planned one more use, maybe two. Also, anyone have an idea about Allen's power?

2. About Valkyrie's Innocence: I called it _Divine_ because it uses the power of deities through the songs. Hephaestus is the Greek god of fire, in case anyone cares. She can use other deities than Greek ones, but since we just did them in school, I'm gonna use quite a few of them. Valkyrie's Innocence has 3 Levels. In the first Level, she simply says the name of the god. This is the weakest. In the second Level she plays the _Melody of_ the god, which is much stronger. And the third Level... Well, you'll see. Some powers only work on higher levels. The flute's end looks kinda like this: __/\/ I say this because I'll use that later on. So tell me, How do you like it? Is her's or Jesaia's better? How am I doing at creating powers?

3. Is there anything you would like to see in this fic? Again, I can't guarantee it will happen, but I'll try.

4. How did you like the battle? Was it okay? What can I do better?

5. Is there anything in this chapter or my story in general you especially liked/found interesting/really hated/or just want to say? If yes, what?

I thank you for reading my story and I hope I don't sound rude when I say I would like to have **at least** 4-5 reviews for this chapter, I've worked pretty hard to get it done. By the way, point 5 is really just where you write your own opinion and whatever comes to mind, so I look forward to that. Reviews, constructive criticism and ideas are more than welcome, they show that people care.

Please Review


	12. Aftemath

Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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Allen stared at the being that was kneeling in front of him. Had the Earl not said that there was nothing beyond Level 4? Allen looked at his claw.

"_**There isn't, or at least there wasn't. Now I'm really interested in your power."**_ The musician added and Allen couldn't help but agree. Just what was his power that turned humans into... whatever the siblings were now and push Akuma to a Level that didn't even exist?

"_**Well, it's obviously a influence-type."**_ The musician sensed Allen's confusion, so he explained. _**"Noah powers can be categorized in three types. The first is the most common, the physical-type. It basically means that you alter your body or create things and elements. Skin Boric was a physical-type, just like Lulubelle and Jasdevi. The other two types are equally rare. There is the mental-type, which basically gives one the ability to mess with people's mind somehow, Road is a good example. The last one is the influence-type, which basically allows you to mess with existing things, like Tyki choosing what he touches or what you're doing. All types have certain weaknesses, your type for example would be powerless in an empty space, though that's rather rare in this world. Although I heard that the oldest and most powerful of the Earl's skull has a technique which allows him to imprison one in such a space."**_

Allen gulped. 'What was your ability?' He mentally asked. The musician seemed surprised.

"_**I was of the mental-type, but since I'm nothing more than a voice in your head, I have no power whatsoever. Though I might teach you a few tricks against the Earl's magic someday."**_ He simply stated. Allen turned his attention to the problems at hand, like the being in front of him and what he'd tell Road once she arrived.

At that moment, as if she had read his thoughts, Road dropped from the ceiling, aiming for Allen. Suddenly, Crown Clown billowed up and wrapped itself around her, softly letting the girl down a few feet to Allen's left. Allen blinked. He hadn't even noticed Road, so why did his cape react like that? Oh well, as long as it didn't hurt anyone, Allen guessed it would be fine. Road jumped at him and pulled him into a hug, his cape not doing anything this time. Luciano gave a wolf-howl before Sophia slapped him on the back of his head.

"That's rude, brother!" She hissed at him. Road looked at the two.

"So, you're Allen's little creations?" Luciano raised a brow in annoyance.

"I'm Luciano de Fuego and this is my sister, Sophia." He turned to Allen. "Is this your girlfriend?"

Road blushed and looked incredibly pleased, while Allen imagined what Cyril would do if he heard this. He looked at Luciano. "Do me a favor." Luciano looked confused, but he nodded. "Never, and I mean _never,_ say that when people, or anything else for that matter, can hear you. She has a father who's obsession with her has long since passed the border of madness." Road seemed pleased that he hadn't said no, and Luciano and Sophia noticed it as well. Then Road spotted the being kneeling in front of the door.

"Allen, who's that and how did he get here?" Allen sighed.

"That's the Akuma that the Earl sent as my watchdog." Road looked at it.

"Is that correct?" The being looked at her.

"Positive." was its only reply. There was no emotion in his voice.

"Do you have a name?" Allen asked the Akuma, who blinked surprised. Then its face frowned in concentration.

"Michael." Allen nodded, but Road didn't seem to like the emotionless expression on Michael's face.

"Does it have a personality is a better question. And it doesn't look like a Level 4." Road muttered. Allen sighed.

"You might think I'm crazy, hell knows I'm thinking that myself, but apparently, this is a Level 5" Road stared at him, her eyes wide and her mouth open.

"If you open it any wider, birds might start to build a nest." Luciano said and even Sophia chuckled. Road glared at them and waved her hand. A few pointed candles appeared and shot towards the two, who, to their own amazement, caught them a few inches before their faces. Road looked at them.

"It seems they have the speed and reaction time of Noah. If they also have their healing abilities, do you think you could let me borrow them for a few days, Allen?" She looked at him with begging eyes.

"I didn't bring them here so you can use them as torture dolls, Road." Road tilted her head.

"Then why did you bring them, Allen?" Allen hadn't expected the question and had to think.

"Well, I wanted to show them and this" He took out the Innocence "to the Earl and if he decides it's okay, I'll give it back to Luciano and he can make himself useful."

Road raised a brow. "And the girl?" Allen shrugged.

"Not sure yet." When he saw the gleam in Road's eyes, he quickly added "And no Road, you won't get her as a toy." Road pouted.

"Spoilsport." Allen grinned and Sophia sighed in relief. Road looked at Michael, who hadn't moved from the spot. "About this, the Earl is going to find that extremely interesting. How did you do this?" Allen explained, and Road whistled. "Now even I think this is great. I guess your power is some sort of boosting. I wonder if it'll work on Noah." Her eyes were gleaming again, so Allen quickly cut her off.

"We're not going to experiment with this before we have an idea what this does. Cyril would brutally massacre me if something happened to you." Road nodded. She didn't want to be left with no personality like this thing before them.

"Well, I have to leave now, Cyril is probably taking the arc apart looking for me by now."

"Sounds like that guy has a major screw loose. " Road looked at Luciano.

"Shut up, experiment." Allen sighed as an argument started. He turned towards the door.

"I'm leaving now. I'll be back with a mop to scratch what's left of you two from the walls." He stated with a mocking tone and started walking. He passed Michael and both he and Road looked at him in surprise as he made no try to stop Allen. Allen looked at the Akuma and asked "Weren't you ordered by the Earl to keep me in this room?"

"Positive." Road jumped towards them, a look of shock on her face.

"Are you now ignoring all orders from the Earl?" Michael turned his head towards her.

"Negative." Road thought about it. If it was still following the Earl's orders, then the only reason why it wouldn't move was that something else had higher authority and ordered it to remain still. She knew that Level 2 never ignored the orders of a Level 3 unless a Level 4, a Noah or the Earl gave a different order. But there shouldn't be a higher authority then the Earl in the Akuma's mind, unless... She looked at Allen.

"Level f... Michael, if Allen ordered you to go left and the Earl ordered you to go right, which way would you go?"

"Left." The answer came immediately, without a moment of hesitation. Allen looked up in astonishment. Road looked at Allen.

"It looks like when you made it evolve, you've prioritized your orders above the Earl's. So basically, this thing is going to do anything you say." She shrugged "Oh well, not my problem. I'll go before Cyril comes here." Allen nodded and headed for the bed.

"I think I need some sleep right now." And with that, Road left and Allen fell into his bed. Luciano and Sophia looked at each other, shrugged and made themselves comfortable on the mattress a Akuma had prepared for them.

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"So basically, Allen is a Noah and with the Earl now, but he still doesn't like killing and is still our friend, right?" Lavi asked when Lenalee finished her explanation. She nodded. Timothy had never liked Levrier, and when he had found out the man had ordered Allen's execution, forcing him to escape, he had sworn to help make his life hell, which lead to him, Jesaia and Lavi cooperating to organize new ways to make Levrier's life miserable. He saw Allen being alive and still a friend a good thing, even though he couldn't see him in the Order anymore. He looked at the others.

"So, will Allen have to attack us next time we see him?" Everyone seemed to shudder at the very idea, but Lenalee shook her head.

"I don't think so. He called himself Noah's compassion, and I don't see any way that compassion would bring him to fight us. So the Noah in him doesn't want to fight and Allen doesn't want to fight either. When I talked to him, he asked me if you're all okay, so he hasn't forgotten us either."

Lavi chuckled darkly. "If we could get Levrier and his goons out of the way, he'd might actually come visit us." That idea seemed to cheer everyone up.

"I volunteer as a helper." Everyone turned around and looked at Jesaia and Valkyrie. The girl simply walked away while Jesaia joined the group. Miranda looked at the girl.

'I used to look a bit like her before I met Allen. Only she seems even more broken than I was. Her eyes say that she's a walking corpse.' She felt sorry for the young girl. No one should have such hollow eyes, especially not a sixteen year old girl that should have her whole life ahead of her.

"Do you think she will sell us out?" Lavi asked, but Jesaia shook his head.

"I can't say I know her very well, but I don't think she's the type to sell people up the river." Miranda seemed to share Jesaia's opinion.

"She looks like she doesn't care about anything in this world. She seems broken somehow."

"So what do we do?" Crowry asked, not certain what would happen. Lavi grinned.

"The only thing we can: Wait for news from Allen and wreck Levrier's nerves to pass the time."

Everyone nodded, not noticing Kanda standing behind the door. "So that's going on here. Not my business." he muttered before returning to his room.

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Allen woke up from a very familiar feeling. "This is getting old real fast, Road." He could hear her giggle. She had dropped on his stomach again. Allen remembered what had happened the last time Road had dropped towards him and considered keeping Crown Clown permanently active. But before he could make a final decision, Road started talking.

"Get up, Allen, it's time for breakfast and then the Earl wants to talk to you about a few things, like your two experiments, that new Innocence and the Level 5. And before you look at me, Cyril came to your room while you where asleep looking for me and found him." Allen's head spun towards Michael.

"Did you tell Cyril Road was here, Michael?" Michael shook his head.

"Negative. You have ordered no information suggesting Road being your girlfriend to be spoken. "

Allen sighed in relief. Apparently, Michael understood what could get Allen in trouble and avoided to do such things. Allen was grateful.

Luciano and Sophia were standing at the exit. "So, what's for breakfast?" Luciano asked. Road looked at them in surprise.

"You want food?" She asked, as if the very thought of that was simply ridiculous. "Well, we might find a few dog bowls we can fill with food and you can eat from there." Luciano paled and turned to Allen.

"Please tell me she's kidding." Allen shrugged.

"It sounds plausible. As far as I know, the breakfast is only for Noah." Road nodded.

When she saw Luciano's shocked expression, she laughed out loud. "Don't worry," She then added "for today, we have given you a seat at our table. But if you want to keep it, you'll have to earn it somehow." Luciano looked relived as they went to eat.

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Levrier and the men he had called to help went through the footage of the golems again. They had pulled an overnighter already and the sun had started to rise, but they're work was not proceeding well at all. There had to be some weaknesses of the Noah hidden in those records, but they had yet to find anything that could be labeled a breakthrough. He looked at what they had gathered as potential weaknesses.

Tyki Mikk: Inability to phase through Innocence  
Tyki Mikk ultimate: Lack of reason, but with near-invincibility given in return. (Retreat on sight has been ordered)  
Solution: Operation _End of Pleasure _(?)

Lulubelle: \  
Solution: \

Twins (names unknown): Absolute concentration required for the fake Earl, but once it is released, it is extremely difficult to get a chance to break their concentration.  
Twins ultimate: \ (Can out muscle five exorcists at once, extreme caution required.)  
Solution: Alystar Crowry. Supply large amounts of Akuma-blood and let him absorb it in perfect condition. Similar method shown to be effective

Road Camelot: Lack of physical power (?)  
Solution: \

Allen Walker: Humanity. Has shown hesitation to kill and sorrow for deceased  
Solution: \

All in all, it was not satisfying, since almost all of the weaknesses listed were either superstition or temporary. Both Tyki Mikk and Allen Walker might loose their only found weak spots over time. Perhaps it was time to begin Operation End of Pleasure, but they had yet to find the bait. Levrier sighed and turned to the footage again.

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When Allen entered, he noticed the Earl had already fulfilled his promise of getting a round table. He sat down next to Tyki and Road took the other free seat beside him. Allen noticed tree things. First, Cyril was glaring at him, nothing new on that end. Second, Luciano was glaring at Tyki. Well, nearly killing someone could strain the best relationships. And most importantly, there was finally an acceptable amount of food on his plate. Luciano looked at the mountain of food almost reaching the ceiling, and he and his sister simply stared at the speed Allen reduced that mountain to crumbs in a matter of minutes, while still retaining his manners. When Allen was done Luciano spoke.

"Very impressive Allen, but you waste so much time with all that chewing. You should learn to just dislocate your jaw like a snake, that would save you so much time." Everyone laughed, especially Cyril. Even Allen had to grin and was about to reply something when the Earl spoke.

"Well, now that we're all fed, Allen, Tyki, Lulubelle, you two" he pointed at Luciano and Sophia "come with me, we have to discuss some things." They rose and followed the Earl to a hall where Michael was already waiting. They stood waiting, but suddenly Luciano and Sophia spun around. They caught the large bullets of the Level 1 hiding in the background a few inches before they would have hit them. The Earl nodded.

"They have the strength, speed and reaction time of Noah, but as far as I know, they do not possess any special abilities or memories of Noah, am I correct?" The siblings nodded. "It seems you can turn humans into, let's call them Deminoah. I really wonder what your ability is, this is unlike anything I've ever seen before. But let's leave it at that." The Ear started to question Tyki and Lulubelle about what had happened during their mission, then he turned to Allen.

"Show me that Innocence." Allen gave it to him. The Earl looked at it, rolled it in his hand, passed it to Tyki and Lulubelle, then he gave it back to Allen. "It seems like this is safe for Noah. Since we have the user already, this could become a useful weapon. Do you think you could do that to other Innocence as well?" Allen shrugged.

"It should work, I mean, it worked on this one. Though I think it won't work if the user has it and doesn't allow it." The Earl nodded.

"But if this new Innocence is safe for Noah, maybe Noah can use it as well." There was gleam in the Earl's eyes. If the Noah could really use Innocence, he could get rid of a few problems, like the real reason he had spared the Black Order the fate of annihilation all this time. And if they got the Heart...

Allen shrugged again. "Maybe, we'd have to try." The Earl threw the Innocence back to Allen and Luciano raised the arm with the bracelet. Allen sighed and activated Crown Clown. He took the Innocence with the tips of his claws and put it on the bracelet. It again felt like he breached the surface of a pond as the Innocence vanished in the bracelet. Allen let it go and it completely vanished. The bracelet lost its gray color and turned red. Luciano looked at it, then he shrugged.

"Oh well, better than gray." The Earl looked at Allen.

"You can remove or place Innocence in objects?" Allen nodded.

"As long as the user lets me." The Earl nodded.

"Tyki, Lulubelle, you may leave. Luciano, Sophia, wait for Allen outside." They nodded and left. The Earl looked at Allen.

"How did you make a Level 5?" Allen looked at him. He had no idea, but he told the Earl what had happened. The Earl seemed to think.

"Yes, that's the only possible explanation. Allen, your Innocence has Purified the soul and the Akuma, canceling the corruption that usually makes the Akuma unusable. But I guess there is a price to pay for this evolution." Allen looked at the Earl, confused. What was he getting at? "I'm fairly certain this Akuma prioritizes your orders above mine. Oh well, sacrifices must be made. Still, I'm not sure what a Level 5 can do, so why don't we test its power? You can let it deliver a message to your friends in the Order, and if it makes it back in one piece with the Generals there, we know its strong enough. Don't look so shocked, did you really think I haven't figured out how you managed to get fifty miles of distance between you and the Order in your condition?" Allen nodded. It sounded fair. Allen looked at Micheal.

"Can you turn into a human-form?" He asked, since he was pretty sure Level 4 couldn't. Instead of answering, Michael stood up and folded his blood-colored wings around his body. They seemed to merge with his skin and a few seconds later, a man an a blood red suit with long black hair was standing in front of them. He looked like a normal person, at least on first glance. Then Allen noticed his eyes. The irises had turned from white to a cat-like yellow and the eyeball was still black, not white. It would have to do. He turned back to the Earl. "Would that be everything?" The Earl nodded.

"For now, yes. With his Innocence, Luciano might become very useful, so I'll let him work with the Akuma, but I have no idea what to do with his sister." Allen understood how the Earl felt.

"I know I know, I'll think of something." Though he had no idea what she could do around here to help.

He waved at Michael and the Akuma followed him. Luciano and Sophia were waiting for him in the corridor, along with Road. Allen was willing to bet she had spied on the entire conversation. Road reacted how he had expected and hung herself on him as dead weight.

"Road, what will you do if Cyril comes around that corner and slaughters me?"

To everyone's surprise, Michael spoke. "Cyril Camelot is currently in his room on the other side of the arc. It would cost him twenty minutes to reach this point." They stared at him.

"You can sense and locate Noah?" Road asked. No one had never heard of such an ability before, finding Noah had always been a matter of luck.

"Positive." was his only reply. Allen sighed and turned to Luciano.

"The Earl has agreed on letting you work with the Akuma, though I have no idea how much authority you'll get." Luciano nodded. Once he figured out how to activate his Innocence, things would get interesting. "But we have really no idea what we should do with you, Sophia." Allen sighed.

Sophia understood. She was not a fighter. "Well, I'm good at housework, like cooking and cleaning, and I've worked at a beauty parlor, but I guess I can't be of any real use, huh?" Allen was about to nod, when something hit him. He froze. Road stared at her.

"Did you say you worked at a beauty parlor? As in, you fixed hair nails, make-up and stuff like that?" Sophia nodded. "Were you good?" Sophia swelled with pride.

"They said I was the best they had ever seen, and it was a professional beauty parlor. Some VIPs came to us and I worked on them and there never was a complaint." Allen smiled.

"Then there might be something you can do. It may sound a bit weird at first, but you just might save my life with it." Sophia was confused. Road explained.

"When Allen was still an exorcist, he destroyed an Akuma that was responsible for doing Lulubelle's nails an stuff and to this day she hates him for it. When he was brought here, she opted to kill him on the spot. So, if you take that job, she might stop plotting things that can get Allen in serious trouble." Sophia shook her head in disbelief, but if it helped, she didn't mind.

"Now the only problem is, how do we bring Lulubelle the news?" Allen wondered. Suddenly, Lulubelle appeared out of nowhere.

"I heard everything." She stated, pulled off her glove and raised her hand towards Sophia. The girl nodded, pulled out a nail file and got to work. A few minutes later, she stopped. Lulubelle looked at her fingers. "Come with me." She then declared and left. Sophia hurried after her. Road turned to Allen.

"Well that went better than expected." Allen nodded. But he had a feeling things wouldn't be so easy with Cyril. Luciano left to work on his Innocence, and Road, Allen and Michael were standing alone in the corridor. Road finally let go of Allen and said

"I'm gonna go play with Jasdevi, I heard they got their butts kicked." She seemed unable to wait to rub it in. Allen smiled and waved her goodbye. Then he turned to Michael.

"Now, do you think you could deliver a message to my friends?"

"Positive." was the immediate reply.

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Jesaia, Lavi and Timothy were a good team. While Timothy didn't directly posses people anymore, his ability to leave his body and scout was more than useful. They had done a few pranks that should cause enough paperwork to keep Levrier busy and desperate for a month. Miranda, Crowry and Lenalee had decided to look the other way when they started their operation, and even though they caused a major ruckus, Kanda hadn't left his room yet. They had been careful not to cause any ruckus near his room, so that might have helped. When Levrier had arrived he seemed hardly able to stand without help. He had spent the last two days analyzing the footage of the battles with the Noah, but without much luck so far. The man needed sleep and Lavi and the others made sure he didn't get it. There had been no evidence and the few people who had seen them were from the science department and therefor would sell them out. And indeed Levrier had no witnesses and no proof. He was about to give them missions to stop the chaos, when Reever ran into the room.

"You have to see this, there is someone in front of the gate and we have no idea how he got there."

Everyone ran to the surveillance system and indeed, they could see a man in a red suit coming towards the gate. Long black hair was flowing in the wind and there seemed to be something wrong with his eyes, but they were unable to tell what it was.

"How did he get there?" Levrier muttered. It was impossible that the man had climbed the mountain not only without being noticed, but also without messing up his clothes. He looked like he was heading to a party, not like he had somehow hiked up here.

"I wonder what he wants." Lavi muttered, having the feeling they would soon find out.

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Chapter 12 is done. I was pretty upset when only one review came last chapter, even though a second one followed a bit later. I can live with stuff like "What the hell were you thinking?" or "Now this is just stupid." then the idea was bad, tough luck. But absolute silence? I'm doing this to improve my writing, so how am I supposed to get better if there's no feedback? Seriously, if this happens again I'll pause this for a month or so and work on something different. Since I was upset, I've started to work on something different and since I've already published the first chapter, people expect updates there as well and my workload has quadrupled. Thank god I'm on vacation, even though the teachers gave us stuff we have to do. But enough of that.

The usual: How did you like it, what can I do better, was there anything you especially liked, anyone have any ideas that might help, what do you think will happen next, any requests?

Well, I've complained enough for one day, so thanks for reading and please, more than 2 reviews this time (my thanks to addenza and Starforce119 for reviewing this time as well).

Please review


	13. Messages

Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own the DGM

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Lavi held his breath. The man in the red suit had almost reached the gates of the Order. From what the golems could see of him, he looked to be in his mid-twenties. Now if he could only see what was wrong with the man's eyes. The man stopped in front of the Gatekeeper. Now what would happen?

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The man looked at the giant face in front of him. When it sprung to life, he didn't even flinch.

"WHO ARE YOU?" The face shouted.

"Michael." The man answered. "My objective is to deliver messages to a number of exorcists."

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"This guy knows of exorcists." Levrier stated. 'Ya think, genius?' were Lavi's only thoughts to such an obvious statement. Link, who had recovered enough to stand and walk, looked at the man closely.

"He is neither an exorcist nor a finder. He might be a new employee, but he has never appeared at Central before."

Levrier nodded and grabbed a microphone connected to the golems swarming around the man.

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"We will have to ask you a few questions before we decide if we let you in." The man turned his head and looked directly into the golem.

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"What is wrong with his eyes?! He can't be human! Access denied!" Levrier hissed. Then they heard the man's voice.

"Negative." That was all. He simply stated that one word like a machine and walked towards the gate.

"Are we under attack?" Lavi asked himself. What happened next made him doubt his eyes. This man, Michael, had walked to the gate, put his left hand under it and lifted it open. With _one_ hand. Levrier gasped.

"Impossible! That gate weighs many tons, and he's lifting it like a sheet of paper!" Indeed, there was no sign that this was strenuous activity for Michael. After he entered the Order, he let the gate close behind him, like he had simply passed through the door of a garden. Everyone ran to see this being up close, even though they were risking life and limb in doing so.

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When Micheal entered the Order, he saw a great number of people looking at him from safe distances. He spoke.

"I am searching for Lenalee Lee, Lavi Bookman Jr., Alystar Crowry, Miranda Lotto, Timothy Hearst, Cross Marian and, optionally, Yu Kanda." There was a moment of silence, then a Chinese-looking man appeared before him, his face twisted in anger.

"Who sent you?" Michael looked at the man.

"Confirm your identity." The man snorted.

"I'm Chaoji Han, now answer my question!" Micheal tilted his head.

"I have been sent here by my master. Now leave, I have no business with you." Chaoji blocked his way.

"And what is your master's name?" Micheal made a slight frown. This individual was hindering his objectives and he had been ordered to use force only if attacked and to refrain from causing permanent or too extensive damage.

"Allen Walker." Everyone in the hall gasped. This being was sent here by Allen. Chaoji's face twisted.

"Are you an Akuma?" Did Allen really send an Akuma as a messenger to his friends? Then again, those machines were programmed to obey any order given to them by a Noah. Lavi, who had arrived just in time to hear the dialogue, noticed something the others had missed. This being had referred to Allen as his master. Not as one of his masters, or master Allen, but simply as master. Did that mean he was exclusively under Allen's control?

"Positive." Chaoji lunged at the being in front of him.

"How dare a abomination like you show his face here? I'll smash you to pieces!" Michael raised his arms and the two men locked hands. Chaoji noticed that even though he was using all his Innocence- boosted strength, the creature's hands didn't budge. He looked at it as it bend its wrists slightly and forced Chaoji to his knees.

"In my human form, I only posses 35% of my full strength and I am not even using half of that. You cannot win. Get out of my way." This revelation startled everyone. The strength to lift the gate, which indeed weighed tons, was not even 35% of his maximum power? What in the world were they up against?

"Never!" Chaoji hissed. Michael looked at him, then he spun to the left, throwing Chaoji through a few walls a hundred feet away. The man would recover in a few days, considering the strength he had shown. A boy with an eye-patch and red hair jumped in front of him. He matched the master's descriptions, but Michael wanted to make sure.

"State your name." The boy grinned.

"I am Lavi and I believe you have a message for me." Michael nodded and raised his index and middle finger to his temple. Suddenly, Allen appeared in front of him. Though they quickly realized it was some kind of recording. 'Allen' spoke.

"Hi Lavi, how have you been? Things got a little weird here pretty fast, scratch that, things got really weird. I can't believe I'm a Noah and am now dining with people I've tried to defeat before." He laughed. "Well anyway, I don't have much time, so I have to get straight to the point. As you've noticed, I have to fight with the Noah now, but I don't want to fight against my friends, so I'll probably retreat whenever possible. So don't worry too much, okay? By the way, I don't think it would work out with you and Lulubelle, so you should better forget her." When Lavi had first seen the shape-shifting Noah's true form, he had reacted just like Jesaia. Lavi grinned, but Allen had left more news for him. "By the way, this Akuma somehow sees me as the highest in his chain of command, so I think he's reliable. I've ordered him only to act in defense, but I advise against fighting him, you wouldn't win. Bye Lavi, maybe I'll see you soon. Oh, and if you're scheming something against Levrier, try to keep bystanders out of it." With that, 'Allen' vanished.

"End of message" Michael stated. Lavi smiled. Allen had confirmed his suspicions about the Akuma, and he had seen through the little tricks he and the others had planned for Levrier, even though he couldn't have known what they were doing. He looked at Michael.

"The others should be in the infirmary, except for Cross, hell knows where he is. You should make your deliveries and leave, before..." But it was too little, too late. Winters Zokalo had arrived. His Innocence was spinning above his head. Lavi ran out of the way towards Jesaia, who had stared at what was happening here, and they both stared in awe at what happened next.

Suddenly, Michael was gone. They spotted him a second later, standing a few feet _behind_ the General, who had frozen. General Zokalo spat blood and stared at his stomach, where the imprint of a fist was clearly visible. Then he collapsed. Lavi elbowed Jesaia.

"Hey, what just happened?" Jesaia was still staring at the General.

"I have no idea, I blinked." They looked at Winters Zokalo. From what Lavi could see, the wound was not life-threatening, it would probably heal in a few days. The only real damage was probably done to the man's pride. The Akuma was truly not aiming to kill and simply turned to the direction of the infirmary.

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Levrier was shocked. Even though that Akuma had used the element of surprise, he had managed to take down a General with a single strike! Not even the Level 4 who had attacked Headquarters before had managed that. The only good news was that it was apparently ordered not to kill and only retaliated. It would probably leave once it had delivered the messages. As much as Levrier hated to admit it, in their unprepared situation, they could do nothing but wait. The Generals were too moody to effectively mobilize, and normal exorcists wouldn't stand a chance. Levrier was certain they were facing another Level 4, nothing else had that much power. But as long as their secrets were safe, it wouldn't matter.

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Michael had found the infirmary and explained his purpose to most of the receivers, namely Lenalee, Crowry, Miranda and Timothy. Then he looked at them.

"For the purpose of saving time, would you permit me to send the message directly into your minds?" The exorcists looked at each other, then they nodded. Michael raised four fingers and a small white orb was floating above each one. He turned his palm towards them and clenched his hand to a fist. The orbs shot at the exorcists and vanished between their eyes.

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Lenalee saw Allen standing in front of her, in his human form, not as a Noah. He spoke.

"Lenalee, I'm grateful for what you've done to try and save me, and I know what happened was not your fault. I told Michael to give this message private, so that I don't get you in trouble. Also, be careful. I don't know what happened to your Innocence, but the Earl doesn't like it at all. You should take care of yourself and watch your back, Levrier is just as bad as the Earl. And keep away from my stupid master, he's the biggest womanizer on the planet. Could you tell your Brother I said hi? Oh, and tell Jerry I miss his cooking, what I get here just isn't as good as what he makes. I miss you all. I don't want to fight any of you and I will retreat if I see you unless I have no other choice. Before I forget, I managed to save Luciano's life. Luciano is that boy from Ireland. But I'm not quite sure that's a good thing, you'll find out what I mean eventually. By the way, give Reever, Johnny and the others in the science department my best wishes. For now goodbye, and good luck in the future."

Lenalee smiled. Allen was still Allen, and he found a way to warn her. She watched him fade away, that friendly smile still on his face.

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Miranda saw Allen smile at her.

"Hello Miranda, I hope you're okay. I'm sorry if Michael scared you, he won't hurt you or anyone else who doesn't attack him first, so don't worry. I'm doing more or less okay here, though some people have already opted to kill me. I really wish I could come back, but I'm afraid that's currently not possible. I don't have much time right now, but I promise I won't hurt you or our friends. Maybe we can see each other soon, but for now, thank you for everything you've done. You have really changed a lot for the better since the first time I've met you."

Miranda cried. He had thanked her again.

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Crowry stared at Allen.

"Hello Crowry, I hope you are alright. Watch out for the twins, they've been permanently hearing how you kicked their butts and they're out for blood. Please, don't try to fight this Akuma, Micheal is more than even you can handle. I've forbidden him from using his power against others, it's too destructive, but he still is a formidable opponent that could probably give Tyki in his ultimate form a run for his money. But enough about that. Crowry, do you remember how we first met? You're one and only true love was an Akuma, and in the end, you had to destroy her. I've killed my father after I turned him into one myself, but what you've been through must have been infinitely more painful. Just know this, I believe your love is watching you. Not from heaven, when I turned into a Noah and saw the memories of suffering I lost the little faith in god I had left. Maybe god exists, but he is not a merciful guardian. No, I believe our loved ones rest in our hearts, and they only truly die once they're forgotten. As long as you remember your beloved, she will be with you. You are keeping her alive. I wish you the best of luck, Crowry. You have come far and I'm proud to call you my friend, for sadly we are no longer comrades. Oh, and learn to be more careful about what people you trust, I probably won't be there next time you get stripped to your underwear in a gamble. Goodbye, and I hope we can see each other soon."

Crowry was touched by Allen's compassion, and that last part made him chuckle. Indeed, Allen had once won his clothes back for him after he got tricked by a few people. Ironically, the Noah Tyki had been among them. Crowry smiled. It was good to know they hadn't lost Allen.

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Timothy could see Allen kneeling down to look at him eye-to-eye.

"Hey Timothy, how are you? We haven't exactly had the time to talk much, did we? Well, I hope you can make new friends at the Order, I had a great time there. Some of the happiest moments of my life, and, I'll admit that, some of my hardest as well. I guess all I can tell you is that even if we're now on different sides, I won't hurt you. And I thought that as your senior, it is my duty to warn you about some things going on over there. First of all, don't mess with Kanda, he eats people, though you might have found that out already. If Komui has a new robot, run. Run as fast as you can and try to make it collide with Kanda, let him take care of those over-sized tin cans. I guess I don't need to mention don't trust Levrier, you've figured that out already. Oh, and I hope I don't have to tell you, but don't possess humans. And that goes for Noah as well. They're different, you probably wouldn't be able to handle them. And keep away from Road Camelot, she has mental powers that might trap you and she can be incredibly sadistic and enjoys causing pain. My best advice is try to keep yourself out of combat, your Innocence isn't made for taking your body into battle. Maybe I'll see you soon. If we don't have to fight, dinner's on me."

Timothy grinned. Did Allen really know what he had just offered? Then again, Allen's appetite was even bigger than his own, so he probably did.

"_That boy Allen means you well, master. It would be wise to heed his advice."_ Tsukikami added to Timothy's thoughts. He was right.

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All four blinked. They saw Micheal lowering his arm. Had all this really only taken a few seconds? Michael spoke.

"I have fulfilled my mission here, now I must find Cross Marian." He turned to leave when Kanda stepped in his way.

"Kanda." Lenalee said surprised. Michael looked at him.

"Yu Kanda?" The man nodded. "I have a message for you." He placed his fingers at his temple and 'Allen' appeared.

"Well, I didn't think you of all people wanted to hear what I had to say. I considered going sentimental with you as well, saying stuff like how I respected you, wanted thank you for your help and tell you that I won't kill you on the battlefield, but then I remembered who I was speaking to. So, I decided to say the truth. You're arrogant and need to learn to respect others. You judge people to quickly and I and everyone else can barely stand you, BaKanda. And even if I won't kill you, that doesn't mean I can't kick your ass. Well, see you soon." And with that, he was gone.

The veins on Kanda's forehead were clearly visible. He looked at Michael. "Send this message back to him: Shut your trap Moyashi, or I'll come and shut it for you. As for the battlefield, you're welcome to try, if you're prepared that I'll slice your damn tongue off." He turned away.

"Recorded." was the only reply Michael gave. Kanda looked at him.

"And General Cross is on the balcony in the third hall, second floor. Make your delivery and leave." And with that, he left.

"Affirmative." Michael left for Cross. Lenalee, Crowry and Miranda looked at each other.

"I swear, it's impossible for these two to greet each other in a normal way." Lenalee sighed and Crowry nodded.

"I guess that's just their way of saying hello." Timothy was confused.

"So, they're not simply hating each others guts?" Lavi and Jesaia walked in.

"Nope. They hate each other, but they kinda like each other at the same time. It's pretty confusing." Lavi laughed. "Now come on, I want to hear what Allen will tell his master."

And with that, all six people ran to follow the Akuma.

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Michael entered the hall Kanda had named. Suddenly, there was a movement to his upper left. Several small objects were flying towards him. He blocked all seventeen with one hand. It left scorch-marks on his skin and his hand hurt. Michael looked up. There was a man with red hair and a mask covering the side of his face. He was standing on a balcony that matched the descriptions, so Michael jumped on the balcony.

"Cross Marian?" The man nodded.

"Why did you open fire?" Cross smiled.

"I had to know if my stupid apprentice had competent people working under him. Now, what did he send me?" Michael nodded and touched his temple. Again, the white haired boy appeared.

"Hello master. I apologize if I've caused you any trouble. But you really deserve it. I understand this is against your nature, but keep your hands of the women in the Order. You're causing trouble for everyone. Not that I mind if it hits Levrier, but don't bother other people, and keep away from minors, that's a crime, stupid master. Do you have any idea how often I had to try and fix things you left in chaos? Actually, you might, considering you were the one who always threw me to the wolves. Anyway, I've given Michael the money for most of the debts that you've made in my name. I've cleaned a few casinos out to get it, so don't ever dump another one of your debts on me. Try to stay healthy and out of trouble. And I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to take care of Timcampy right now. Goodbye master, maybe we'll meet again. Again, don't _ever_ push another debt onto me!" Cross grinned and took the large sac of cash Micheal handed to him. Then he waved at him, and the Akuma followed him into the room behind the Balcony. Lavi sighed.

"Looks like the show is over." He muttered as they left.

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In the privacy of the room, Cross looked at the Akuma. He had immediately seen that the creature before him was a veteran of combat, and that he had been one before his death.

"While I believe that your loyalty to Allen is genuine, I think you have more personality than you've shown." Michael tilted his head.

"Perhaps. But I owe Allen Walker my soul and a majority of personal freedom, so I will defend him until this body is no more. And you are only partly right, in my past life I was a soldier ever since childhood. I never had much personality." Cross smiled.

"You are very dangerous, Akuma that is beyond the Earl's control." For the first time, Michael smiled.

"As are you, human who is not a human." Cross's eye widened, then he smiled again.

"You are very perceptive. The exit is that way." Michael nodded and left.

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Michael had just entered a huge chamber with a gigantic hole in the center, leading both up and down beyond human sight, as he noticed something.

"Abnormality detected. Must inform master." He placed his first two fingers of his left hand on his forehead.

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Allen was still standing in the heat of the Sahara, looking at the result of Michael's experiment with his power. Before him was a one mile wide crater, with the same depth at its lowest point. While the winds and the sand of the desert would soon erase all traces of this, it was still awe-inspiring.

"The _Nirvana Field_."Allen muttered to himself "A power far too terrible to ever be used." He noticed the Earl was standing behind him, but Allen ignored him. Then he received a mental message from Michael. His eyes widened.

"That's impossible." He spun around to face the Earl. "Did you send Noah into the Order's Headquarters?" The Earl looked surprised.

"What? Why would I do that? And why are you asking me this?" Allen looked at him. He seemed to be telling the truth.

"Because Michael has just informed me that he senses not one, but two Noah inside of Headquarters." Allen stated. The Earl's eyes widened in shock.

"What? That can't be! Although, now that I think about it, there are one or two Noah that haven't reawakened for hundreds of years. Whatever the case, tell your Akuma to get them!" Allen nodded and formed a mental reply for Michael.

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"Understood. Former mission accomplished. New mission accepted. Intent: scouting and retrieval. Mission will begin immediately." With that, Michael jumped over the fence and into the darkness.

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"Shit, he's gone to the bottom floors, sir." Levrier bit his lip. Everything had gone well and now this. Was the Akuma aiming for Hevlaska or maybe even that ancient secret not even the Bookmen knew about? Either way, there was nothing he could do. The only exorcist at Havlaska's side right now was Bookman, and he wouldn't risk dying and letting the history he had yet to teach be lost. Although he might be able to buy time by getting the Akuma into a conversation. But even if that happened, reinforcements would most likely not make it in time.

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When Michael reached the bottom floor, he saw a large creature and a old man. The creature spoke.

"Why are you here, Akuma? Have you come to kill me and destroy the Innocence?"

"Negative." Michael replied "I am searching for something, I have no business with either of you." The old man seemed curious.

"I am Bookman, one of the keepers and collectors of knowledge. Would you mind answering a few of my questions?"

"If you do not hinder my search." The old man smiled.

"I won't. You seem very powerful, are you a Level 4?"

"Negative, I am Level 5" Bookman's eyes widened.

'A Level 5? There has never been a single record pointing to an existence above Level 4.' He quickly regained his focus. "Are there many Level 5?"

Micheal was studying a piece of wall. "Currently, I am the only one."

"Then, are you a weapon of mass destruction like the Level 4?" Michael looked at him for a second before he replied

"Negative, I am a weapon of controlled annihilation." He raised his fist and smashed the wall. Behind it there was a room in which two black crystals with a white stigmata in the center were sitting on podiums. Michael grabbed them while Bookman and Hevlaska stared in surprise.

"What are those?" Hevlaska asked. She had lived long, but even though these two crystals had been so close to her, she had never noticed them.

"They are crystallized Noah." Michael replied, before spreading his blood-colored wings.

"Is that your true form?" Bookman questioned. Michael looked at him.

"Positive. Farewell, Bookman." He flapped his wings and was gone. They could hear him smashing through the ceiling not even a second later.

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Levrier was in shock. How could this have happened? The secret artifacts they had kept for centuries were simply stolen. His only hope was that they could get enough information about the Akuma that was hovering above the Order.

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Michael had broken through the ceiling when he heard an order from the Earl. Since he didn't want to show him how independent he was and since his master made no opposing order, he obeyed. He had a crystal in each hand, and he crushed them in his fists. A mist-like substance flowed out of the crystals as they broke, then his hands were empty. He turned and headed back to the Earl's arc.

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Hevlaska looked up in surprise. Bookman noticed this, even though his head was spinning from the startling revelations. If Lavi hadn't found out anything useful as well, Bookman would punish the boy. But right now, Hevlaska was acting weird.

"Is something wrong, Hevlaska?" The ancient guardian of Innocence looked at him.

"Two of the weakest Innocence I am storing have suddenly received a drastic increase in strength. They are amongst the oldest pieces we have." Bookman knew old was referring to the time they possessed the Innocence, not the actual age.

"What does this mean?" The answer was not reassuring.

"I do not know."

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And chapter 13 is done. Since I've long since tossed 1500-2000 words out the window, I guess I'll keep them at around 4000 words for now. Oh, I've written this in my Code Geass fic as well, but on one of my whims I have decided to update only when I can update both stories at once, so the updates might take a little longer to appear. Though from what I've seen, I update relatively fast, and I work harder the more reviews I get, just a piece of random information. Now, let's get to the questions.

1. How did you like this chapter? Personally, I find it extremely difficult to write emotional.

2. Does anyone have a theory about Michael's power? I think I've dropped a few clues with this.

3. Anything you found really good/bad/weird? What can I do better?

4. Does anyone have some idea they would like to see in this fic? I can't promise anything, but I'll try.

5. Put here for everything else you want to say.

To The Great Deity: Thanks for the tip, I thought they were enabled. Stupid website. Although I probably just screwed up somewhere.

To Cross the Damned Soul: Sorry if I disappoint with this chapter, but Michael was sent there as a messenger, not a wrecking crew. I won't use Michael too often, simply because I absolutely overpowered him and things would soon get boring if he just smashed everything that stands in his way. Although I still have a bit of violence planned.

Well, I believe I've said enough for now. So all that's left is this:

Please Review


	14. A few Answers

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own DGM

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Bookman stormed into Komui's office, where also found Levrier, who turned towards him.

"Ah Bookman, I was about to go look for you. Have you got any information on that Akuma?" Bookman glared at him.

"In fact I do, but I will not reveal them." Levrier seemed surprised and angered.

"You are breaking the contract the Bookmen made with the Black Order!" Bookman looked at him.

"You cannot break something that has already been broken. The contract stated that we give the Order knowledge and support, and in return we receive all information the Order has. Now I found out that you've kept secrets from us, which is against that contract, giving me the right to refuse to share information. In fact, this violation is enough to allow me and Lavi to leave the Order." Levrier paled. In this situation, he could not afford to loose two exorcists.

"Very well, I will tell you all we know. Those to stones, we call them Noah Crystals, are the only ones we had. We don't know how they were made, but they somehow stopped certain Noah from appearing. They were ordered to be hidden with our Innocence, hoping the Innocence would cover any signals the Crystals might be sending. Anyone not a Innocence-user who got close to them felt symptoms similar to motion-sickness and severe headaches. They were found around four hundred years ago. That's all we know about them." Bookman nodded.

"Very well, we will remain in the Order for now. As for the informations, you will receive them once we have sorted it out. However, should we find out you were keeping other secrets from us..." Levrier rose his hands in defense.

"There are none." Bookman looked at him.

"We will see."

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When they returned to the arc, Allen looked at the Earl.

"What were those crystals and why did you tell Michael to destroy them?" The Earl looked at him before answering.

"If I'm right, those crystals were prisons." Allen raised his brows.

"Prisons? What do you mean?" The Earl explained, anger in his voice.

"Roughly four hundred years ago, there was a Noah of desire who tried to become what you are now, a Noah with Innocence. Unlike you, he failed and was killed by the Innocence. Soon after, another Noah, Noah's loneliness, vanished. Both have yet to resurrect." Allen tilted his head.

"Resurrect? Noah resurrect?" The Earl shook his head.

"Technically no, but the memories of Noah do. They search for a different host that has Noah's genes and awaken them. Now if I'm correct, the Innocence created those crystals and imprisoned the memories inside of them. Now that those crystals are destroyed, the memories should be released and more Noah will rejoin our battle." Allen still had questions.

"How long does it take for a memory to find a host?" The Earl had calmed down.

"That's different every time. The more Noah there are, the faster the other ones reawaken." Allen noticed something as the Earl vanished. he was talking of reawakening and resurrection, not the birth of a new Noah. It was almost like the Earl didn't care about the people, but only for the memories they carried.

"_**That's exactly right."**_ The musician replied. _**"The Earl likes or dislikes certain Noah, but he doesn't see them as real people, only as weapons for his war. As long as the memories are intact, he doesn't care about the people that carry them."**_

Allen had gotten used to the voice in his head and formed a reply. 'Now that I think of it, I heard you rebelled against the Earl and he killed you for it. What did you do?'

"_**I have given something of great importance away, but the Earl doesn't know that. In his eyes, it wasn't what I did that demanded my death. I had stumbled across a piece of information the Earl wants to keep a secret at all costs. I won't tell you what it is yet, you're not ready for that knowledge."**_ The musician stated, a final tone in his voice. Allen nodded, then he realized something: If the Earl would kill anyone who knew that secret, then he would immediately kill Allen if he found out the musician was inside his head. He would have to be careful.

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Levrier sighed. The conversation with Bookman had gone worse than he expected, and now there was a report of a large gathering of Akuma in India that were terrorizing a few villages. Who to send? He looked at the files. Kanda, Nocturn and Lavi. Three people he didn't need right now and with Lavi gone, the wave of terror shouldn't go overboard. Informing them was something Komui could do.

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Luciano had finally mastered his Innocence and named it. As soon as he had managed that, the Earl called for him.

"I heard you can now control your Innocence, is that true?" Luciano nodded.

"Yes, I can." The Earl smiled, well his permanent grin widened.

"Very well then, you'll leave for India right away, a few of my Akuma or going a bit overboard with their play time. You will get them back before the exorcists come and destroy some of them, they have a few rare powers I don't want to loose." Luciano nodded.

"Understood, I'll leave immediately." And with that, he left the Earl.

Allen was waiting for Luciano before the gate. "And what do you want, Allen?" Allen smiled.

"Just do me a favor. If you're forced to fight exorcists, especially if they outnumber you, fight to retreat, not to win. You're life is important to me, and I have no idea how I should explain it to your sister." Luciano grinned.

"She'd kill you if that happened, and it wouldn't be pleasant." Allen chuckled.

"Yes, so lets just avoid that, okay?" He raised his fist to eye level. "Going in alive..." Luciano also made a fist and leaned it on Allen's.

"...Coming out the same way. See ya." And with that, he stepped to the gate.

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When Luciano left the gate, he felt like he had just entered hell. Screams where filling the air, torn off limbs were covering the floor and a dust-like substance that was most likely humans killed by the Akuma's virus was covering the scene like snow. This was what the Earl called going a little overboard? Luciano felt sick and almost threw up, when a Level 3 appeared before him. Unlike normal Noah, he and his sister had no trouble shifting between his human form and his true form, and since he hadn't expected to enter such a bloodbath, he was in his human form.

"Come here everyone, I found another thing we can play with." He grabbed Luciano's arm.

"Let me go." The words were calm and quiet, but the Akuma let go of him like he had been touching lava. Luciano clapped his hands and soon had the attention of the entire horde of Akuma. "_Playtime's_ over. The Earl orders you all to return, now." The Akuma nodded in fear. To them, Luciano was equivalent to a Level 4, and they felt scared of him for some reason. Then they froze.

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Lavi cursed. "Shit, there are at least seventy Akuma leveling from 1 to 3 here. How do we take them all out?" Kanda was equally annoyed.

"Shut up and start smashing them. What?" All of the Akuma seemed to swarm to a boy that was clapping his hands. They heard him speak about the Earl.

"He must be sent to get them beck, either a new Noah or simply an Akuma with the Earl's authority. How do we stop them in time?" Lavi muttered. Then Valkyrie spoke.

"I will destroy them." They stared at her, but she simply activated her Innocence. "Innocence activate, _Divine_. Level 3 activate:_Dark Melody,_ _Requiem of Thanatos_"

Even though Lavi and Kanda didn't feel anything, the Akumas collapsed. For a second, Lavi thought he heard the sound of breaking chains, then it was gone and all Akuma were laying on the ground. The boy was staring in surprise.

"He is not an Akuma below Level 4, or he is a human or Noah." Val stated.

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Luciano stared at the people. They wore the same coat those others had worn, so Luciano was pretty sure they were exorcists. But what had just happened? Suddenly there had been music, Luciano had felt shivers up his spine and the Akuma dropped like flies. They didn't explode, they just collapsed. And now those three people were walking towards him. He turned into his true form. The three stopped.

A man with a sword hissed "A Noah!" Luciano smiled.

"Not quite." A red haired boy stepped in between them.

"I am one of the Bookmen. We record history. What do you mean, not quite?" Luciano looked at him.

"Eye-patch, red hair, a Bookman... Are you by any chance Lavi?" The boy looked surprised.

"Yes, I am. How do you know my name?" Luciano smiled.

"Allen Walker, my current lord as it would seem, has told me a lot about his friends. And who are your companions?" He looked at the others. Lavi grinned.

"Yu Kanda and Valkyrie Nocturn." Kanda was getting annoyed.

"Che, in case you've forgotten, we are supposed to kill him." Lavi looked at him, for a change dead serious.

"As a Bookman, it is also my duty to record information, and he looks like a Noah, but claims to be something different, so it is my duty to find out details." Luciano had looked at the scene in amusement.

"I know the name Kanda, but I don't think I've ever heard of you." He looked at the girl. He wouldn't mind hearing about her though, and a lot more than hear if given the chance, even if she seemed somewhat doll-like. Luciano shook his head. The Italian in him was coming through, if he didn't watch it, he would soon be speaking with accent.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you three, I am Luciano de Fuego." Both Lavi and Kanda gasped in surprise.

"Luciano de Fuego is dead!" Kanda hissed. Luciano looked at himself.

"Oh my god, I'm a ghost!" Kanda drew his blade.

"Don't mock me, brat, I'm itching to kill you!" Luciano sighed and raised his hands in defense.

"Fine, I'll explain. As you already know, I received a fatal injury and was left to die. Well, while I was knocking at death's doors, Allen Walker showed up and offered me a second chance of life if I was ready to bear mankind's hatred. Cheesy, I know, but that's what happened. Anyway, I accepted and was revived as what you see now, a Deminoah." Lavi stared in amazement.

"Allen transformed you? How?" Luciano grinned.

"Well, that's for me to know and you to find out." Lavi sighed.

"It seems we reached the end of our conversation. Innocence activate!" Kanda grinned.

"Finally! Innocence activate! _Mugen_"

"Level 3 activate: _battle-song of Thor_" Val said, no emotions in her voice. She held her flute like a hammer, the thickest part away from her body and lightning struck it. Luciano smiled.

"Very impressive, but you don't have a monopoly on that." He raised his left arm with the bracelet. "Innocence activate! _Morrigan_"

The exorcists stared in shock as the boy was suddenly holding a long red scythe.

"Impossible!" Lavi called. "Even if you were the user, Innocence rejects Noah." Luciano looked at him with pity.

"Have I overestimated your memory? I could have sworn I said I was a Deminoah." Lavi stared at him.

"Even so, you've betrayed god! Your Innocence should have transformed you into a Togaochi!" Luciano tilted his head.

"How can I betray someone I was never loyal to? I realized quickly that god abandoned me and my sister. And what is a Togaochi?" Lavi looked at him.

"When Innocence is used by someone unworthy, or if the user betrays god, it transforms him into a Fallen One, a Togaochi, a monster that uses its own life to power attacks." Luciano snorted.

"The monster of Dark Matter, Akuma. The monster of Innocence, Togaochi. One uses the dead, the other the living. Talk about hypocrisy. And how is this going to turn me into a monster? I'm holding it in my hand. If push comes to shove, I can just drop it." Lavi was surprised. He did have a point. "Though 'Fallen One' has a nice ring to it. Yeah, why not? Let me introduce myself again, Luciano de Fuego of the Fallen. Ironic, considering de Fuego means _of the fire_. I guess this is fate. WOW!"

Kanda had used the _Hells Insects_ against him. Luciano used his scythe to flick up the empty shell of the Level 3 that had grabbed him and used it as a shield. It worked remarkably well as neither he nor the shell took any real damage. He saw all three exorcists running towards him.

"Well, since there is nothing I can do here and I am clearly outnumbered, I believe it's best I take my leave."

With that, he spun the scythe above his head, slammed the blade into the ground behind him and pulled it forward. A gray, blade-shaped shock wave came flying towards the exorcists. At first they wanted to block it, but then they noticed something and jumped out of the way. When they looked up, the Deminoah was nowhere in sight. And apparently, he had taken the Akuma he'd used as a shield with him. But as they now looked at the path the slash had carved, Lavi shuddered.

The grass around the cut was dead, gray and dried-up. He could see a dried-up lizard that hadn't been there before. Even the ground looked grayish and devoud of life. They had to report this.

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Luciano sighed in relief. That had been close. Then he looked up...right into the Earl's eyes. 'Oh shit!' were his only thoughts.

"What happened?" The Earl asked, a tinge of death in his voice. Luciano told him what happened and showed him the Akuma as proof. Thank god he had been smart enough to take it with him.

"It looks like the soul was severed from it, so it has no power source. You said a girl with some sort of flute did this?" Luciano nodded. "Very well, you may leave, nobody could have predicted this."

Luciano hurried to his room, glad to be alive.

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When the exorcists finally smashed all of the Akuma-shells and returned to the Order, Bookman was waiting for Lavi. Lavi recognized the glare in Bookman's eyes and turned to Kanda.

"Sorry, but this may take a while, could you report to Komui?" Kanda looked at him.

"Che, fine." He muttered and left. Val had pulled her usual disappearing act, so Lavi and Bookman were alone.

"I have found out a few things about the Akuma that was here recently, and if you truly are one of the successors of the Bookmen, you will have some information as well." Bookman stated. Lavi was suddenly glad he had asked the others about Michael. Allen had given a few hints in his messages.

"I do, but what do you know?" Bookman was sure the boy was bluffing, but that could be discussed later. If he was right, Lavi would have to learn a library's worth of knowledge by tomorrow for failure and dishonesty towards another Bookman.

"The Akuma was a Level 5, currently the only one in existence. He called himself a weapon of controlled annihilation, which leads to the thesis that its power completely obliterates what it comes in contact with, but can be used for pinpoint operations. Finally, it seems to be able to sense Noah."

Lavi, who had gasped at the Level, nodded. "As for me, the first information is that his name is Michael. He can move faster than the unprepared eye can see and has enough strength to lift tons without problems. In his human form, his strength is reduced to 35% and he has the ability to record messages and send the records directly into peoples mind. The most important information is that he sees Allen Walker as his highest command even above the Millennium Earl. Also, Allen has forbidden the usage of Michael's powers due to their destructive potential." Bookman nodded, satisfied with the informations, but Lavi wasn't done yet. "Also, Allen seems to have the ability to..."

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Levrier didn't believe it. "Please say that again. I thought I heard you say that Allen Walker can transform humans into some Noah-like monstrosities." Kanda was in an awful mood and glared at Levrier.

"Che, I'm tired of this. Look at the golem." While Kanda left, Levrier viewed the recording in shock. Allen Walker was truly able to rob people of their humanity. The boy had mentioned a pact. Was it a necessary requirement for his ability to work or just something Walker did out of personal reasons? Whatever the case, Allen Walker had become one of the biggest threats to humanity there ever was. He was like the devil himself, making pacts that turned humans into abominations. The question was, what was Allen Walker's power. From what they knew, the power of a Noah could be described with a single word. Tyki Mikk was choice, those twins were materialization and the Noah that attacked Headquarters had described her ability as form. But what was Walker's description? If they had that, they might be able to find a way to counter him. But that underling of his was equally dangerous. Just like Walker, he had the speed of a Noah and an Innocence. He had called it _Morrigan_. As far as Levrier knew, Morrigan was the Irish, or rather the Celtic goddess of death. Was that a hint to the boy's power? And why didn't he turn into a Fallen One? Was it possible that only parasite-types became Togaochi? If so, why wasn't Allen Walker one yet? That boy was a mystery Levrier was hellbent of uncovering.

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Allen had found Luciano in one of the training rooms, practicing with _Morrigan_. His new reflexes and agility allowed him to use it to a degree impossible to humans, but he lacked experience with the weapon. And that could kill him if he faced an experienced foe with no hesitation to kill. He looked at Allen.

"Thanks for your advice, I probably would've been slaughtered if I had tried to fight three exorcists head-on with my level of combat experience." Allen nodded.

"Although your Innocence is powerful and very potent, if you don't know how to use it properly, you're toast. Happened to me too, I ended up with a hole in my heart." Luciano nodded, then he raised a brow.

"Wait, a hole in your heart? That has a familiar ring to it. That hole wouldn't happened to be caused by one of Tyki's stupid butterflies, would it?" Allen grinned.

"Ah, so you love them just as much as I do. That's right, a Tease took a chump out of my heart." Luciano looked confused.

"I know why I am still alive, I was saved by you, but how did you heal the hole in your pump?" Allen looked at him.

"I didn't. In fact, it's still there. A piece of my supposedly destroyed Innocence filled the hole in my heart and remained there ever since. But that was a unique case, nothing like this ever happened before or after. Although Lenalee's Innocence has acted just as weird as mine. I heard it formed a crystal around her to protect her twice, in fact, I've seen it the second time and stopped the Earl from cracking it." Luciano was confused.

"But if Tyki nearly killed you, how come you two act like you're the best of friends?" Allen looked at him in surprise.

"Well, I just like Tyki as a person. The first time I met him, he and a few friends of him stripped a friend of mine down to his underwear. I won it all back and left them in underpants. Well, I guess that I get my revenge whenever we play cards. Then again, in this enemy land, I need as many friends as I can get. But I mostly just like him, and I think he likes me as well, isn't that right, Tyki?" Luciano spun around as he heard laughter. Tyki was phasing through the door, a smile on his face. Luciano glared at him.

"What are you looking at, boy? Can't you just forget what happened like Allen?" Allen looked up.

"Don't misunderstand, Tyki. I will forgive but I won't forget." Tyki sighed.

"Same difference. Anyway, you can glare at me all you want, but neither you nor your Innocence can harm me." Instead of answering, Luciano dashed at Tyki, rushed passed him and caught him in the scythe's blade.

"I can't cut you and the power won't work, but I can ruin your wardrobe, I can use my Innocence as a club to beat you to a pulp, and I can do THIS!" with that, he spun the scythe foreword, rendering Tyki airborne. Tyki stopped himself in mid-air, a long cut in his sleeves where he had blocked the blade in reflex.

"You did ruin my suit, but you forget I can choose what I touch, so the air can be a pillow cushioning my fall. But you're right, you can use your scythe as a club since I can't phase through it. But don't forget I'm a bit faster than you, a bit stronger, my weapons are more effective and most important of all, I'm more ruthless than you are."

Luciano deactivated his Innocence. While he detested Tyki, he was not dumb enough to start a fight he had no chances of winning. Tyki nodded and turned to Allen.

"Since you mentioned my mining buddies, how about we visit them? I haven't dropped by in a while and they'll be delighted to see you. Although right now, we are a bit overdressed."

Allen looked at them. Indeed, in their expensive suits, they weren't exactly looking like common miners. He chuckled.

"Why not? I've been trying to come up with an excuse to leave all day, so I can't wait. Just you and me, Tyki?" Tyki nodded and Allen grinned. "Great, this should be fun." He had no idea.

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_Five hours earlier_

"Sir, we have managed to locate the bait for Operation: _End of Pleasure._" Levrier looked up. Finally, some good news.

"Where are they?" The answer was immediate.

"In a small mining town in Austria." That sounded right, but Levrier couldn't afford any more mistakes.

"And you are certain they are the human comrades of the Noah Tyki Mikk?" The CROW nodded.

"Without a doubt, sir." Levrier smiled. Finally, things were going according to plan again. Now the only question was who to send. They couldn't send a group larger than three people, it would catch attention in such a small town and they didn't want to warn Tyki or his companions, but who would fulfill the necessary requirements? Friedrich Himmelhund was of course one of the three. First of all, he was the vital factor in this operation, and secondly, the man would do whatever was necessary to accomplish the mission. Valkyrie Nocturn would be number two, she had a useful ability that would further their plan. The last one had to be a bit flashy. The Generals were out of the question and Kanda's abilities were in fact too precise for this operation. Lavi? He had flashy moves, but he didn't use them too often and the Noah already knew what to expect. Timothy? No, the boy would be useless in that situation. Jesaia? His flames were hard to ignore, they seemed threatening enough when suddenly faced with them and they were very straightforward. Perfect. Now it was time for Operation: _End of Pleasure_ to begin.

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Chapter 14 is done. Finally. This took longer than I expected, although I didn't have that much time to write th last few days. Anyway, here the questions:

1. How do you like Luciano's Innocence? Any idea what it does?

2. What do you think will happen next?

3. In a rating from 1 to 10, how good is my fic so far?

4. Is there anything you would like to see in this fic?

5. Do you like my ideas? What can I do better?

6. Write whatever you want to tell me here.

Oh, and about the Level 5s. They will all look similar, since they take the basic shape of the souls they contain, but their abilities will be different. I'm not sure how many Level 5 will exist, seeing as I can't imagine the Earl giving away his most powerful minions besides the Noah to another's control. And the Noah crystals were not the reason the Earl spared the Order, he didn't even know they exist.

To Cross, or rather Gabriel: Congratulations, you're right. Tyki's friends are the bait. And to your devil: Cross, who said that was Michael's full power? I'm sure I wrote it was simply an experiment. ;)

Well, that's all I have to say for now, well besides this:

Please Review


	15. Operation: End of Pleasure

Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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Friedrich and the others had no problems locating their targets. They cornered them in their little house two hours before sundown. Friedrich looked at Val.

"Make sure no one notices anything that goes on." Val nodded and played the melody she had used to send the targets sleeping, only on a higher level.

"Level 3 activate: _Lullaby of Hypnos_" And without anyone noticing, the entire town fell asleep.

Friedrich looked at Jesaia.

"You should leave, this won't be pretty." Jesaia looked at him, then at the three people that were laying on the floor of the house, unconscious. Scratch house, this was a shack!

"What do you plan to do with them, Friedrich?" The giant man smiled.

"I will wake them up and _interrogate_ them."

Jesaia blinked. He didn't like the way Friedrich had emphasized the word interrogate. He looked at the 'targets'. One of them was a small boy that looked sick. He turned to Friedrich. "You can't be serious, Friedrich. Do you really think they would know anything?" The man stared at Jesaia.

"Keep a lookout, we don't want to be surprised." Jesaia ground his teeth, but he knew he had no choice in the matter, activated _Ifrit_ and used _Jetstream_ to fly above the town.

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Friedrich looked after Jesaia. The boy was far enough away not to bother him. He turned to Valkyrie. "Wake those three up, but only those three. Then you leave this house as well." Valkyrie nodded, turned and left while playing a few barely noticeable sounds. Friedrich's newest victims-to-be flinched and awakened. The door shut and he was alone with them.

_WARNING: BRUTALITY AND GORE AHEAD_

"What happened? Who are you?" The man with the hat called.

"You will tell me about your friend." Friedrich said while he grabbed the man and smashed his knee into the man's face. The man stumbled back, his nose broken.

"What is wrong with you?" The other man called and jumped towards Friedrich, but the exorcist spun around and punched the attacker in the guts. The man went to his knees, spitting blood. But Friedrich wasn't done yet. He kicked the man in the face, causing him to roll on his back, and started kicking him in the ribs. He could feel the man's ribcage breaking, but that didn't stop his kicks until he knew the bones had pierced the lungs. One of the broken ribs had pierced the skin and the bone was clearly visible.

"Now will you tell me what I want to know?" He pulled out his Innocence and activated it. The hatchet became a two-sided battle-ax with a long spike on the top. The man with the broken nose tried to get to his friend, but Friedrich brought down his weapon on him. He hit the man in the shoulder, cutting through the bone and nearly severing off the left arm. Friedrich was splattered in blood, but he simply walked towards the man he struck down. He was holding his shoulder, as if trying to keep his arm from falling off. He turned to Friedrich, who was standing before him.

"We don't know where he is, he sometimes leaves for some special job and we don't hear from him for a few weeks." It sounded desperate and in serious pain.

Friedrich looked at the man and slammed the spike of his ax through the man's thigh, breaking the bone in the process, then moved on to do the same with the other leg. Afterwards, he turned to the man whose ribs he'd broken, ignoring the fact he himself was still soaked with blood. He slammed the spike into the man's shoulder on the opposite side of the broken ribs, and slowly turned the weapon around in it.

"Where. Is. Your. Friend?" Friedrich asked again, while pulling out his weapon and slamming the broad side into the man's head.

"WE DON'T KNOW! STOP IT!" Lise, even though a child and sick, couldn't take it any more. Friedrich looked at the boy, then he threw his ax like a spear. The spike pierced Lise's stomach and nailed him to the wall behind him. His mouth guard turned crimson. By now, the floor was soaking in blood and both adults had passed out from the pain. Friedrich pulled his weapon out of the boy's stomach, stabbed it a few more times and with that reduced the boy's innards to a bloody mush, cleaned his ax on the boy's shirt and repositioned it on his back. Then he grabbed Lise and broke his wrist. While the boy screamed Friedrich proceeded to break his forearm and upper arm under his knee. He repeated this on the boy's other arm and broke both knees by stepping on them and lifting the boy's feet and finally crushed both ankles with his heels. Even if the boy survived, he would be crippled forever.

"You... Bastard! Let... Him... Go!" Friedrich turned around. The man whose legs he had pierced had regained consciousness. Friedrich threw the boy against the wall and heard something break. He turned to face the man who had spoken. The spike shrunk while the blade widened. Then Friedrich slammed the blade down into the man's side, slashing a gap into the right lung. While the man gasped, Friedrich took aim and raised his ax to decapitate him.

_END OF VIOLENT SEQUENCE_

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Jesaia had kept a lookout for anyone, but then he heard the screams of pain. He shot back down to the shack. Valkyrie was standing in front of the door. Jesaia could hear another cry of agony.

"Get out of my way." He growled at her. She looked into his eyes, then she stepped aside. Jesaia saw blood flowing from under the door. He ran it down and practically fell into the room. His eyes widened as he saw Friedrich raising his ax to decapitate a man that seemed barely alive.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND, FRIEDRICH?!" When Jesaia looked around, he felt sick to the core. "What on earth are you thinking? I told you they don't know anything!"

Friedrich lowered his ax and looked at Jesaia. "You are defying orders. Get back in the air."

Jesaia stared at him. "To hell with orders! And if you even touch them _one_ more time, that's exactly where I'll send you. Now get away from them or, so god help me, I'm gonna burn you to a crisp!" As if to underline his words, black flames were flickering around his gloves.

Friedrich looked at him, then he walked to a wall and used the blood he spilled to write something.

"What are you doing? " Jesaia seemed confused.

Friedrich looked at him. "I'm leaving a message for our real target."

"But why are you..." Then Jesaia understood and he stared in disbelief. "You never wanted any information, you just did this to them to cloud the Noah's mind with anger, didn't you?"

Friedrich remained silent, but the answer was obvious. Then he walked past Jesaia and out of the door.

Jesaia stared at the broken bodies. "All this slaughter and for what? This was not necessary!" he hissed. None of them had any real chance of survival. Then he noticed Val was staring at the boy laying in a corner like a marionette with cut strings.

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Valkyrie was looking at the little boy who was looking at her with eyes that slowly dimmed and memories washed over her.

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_Levrier stared at her, just a little girl back then. Her legs were tied and she was wearing a collar and a weird suit that caused pain. He spoke. "You still don't want to cooperate with us?" She weakly shook her head. After what they had done, she'd never help them. Levrier sighed. "Very well then. Increase the voltage by twenty percent and repeat."_

_One of the people working the machines seemed nervous. "But sir, this is a delicate process, we're stimulating her nerves to send signals of extreme pain. I don't know if her mind can take much more."_

_Levrier looked at the man. "Then she will serve the Order with her mind broken. As long as she doesn't die or become a cripple, neither Central nor I care about her mind, and now increase the voltage and do it again!"_

_The man bowed his head. "Yes sir."_

_An unbearable wave of agony washed over her body as she collapsed. The entire wall was a mirror, so she could see the look of pain in her eyes. What had she done to deserve this?_

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A single tear rolled down her face. The boy had the same eyes she had back then. What had he done to deserve this? She pulled out her flute. "Level 2 activate: _Melody of Asclepius_"

Jesaia witnessed how the wounds shallowed until they were no longer life-threatening. He saw the bones snapping back into their correct positions and he knew they were healing. When Val stopped playing, the men were still hurt badly, but they would probably make it.

"Why are you stopping?" he asked. Val looked at him.

"If I heal them any more he will come back and break them again."

Jesaia nodded, but he could help but mutter a "I dare him."

They left, Jesaia still grinding his teeth about Friedrich's actions. There was such a thing as going too far, things one should not be done. Friedrich would come to regret what he had done one day.

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Allen and Tyki had changed and were ready to leave the arc, when they ran into Road.

"_Allen_, Tyki, where are you going?" She had put a sweet and almost passionate tone into Allen's name. "And why are you dressed like beggars?"

Tyki sighed. "We are going to visit a few human friends of mine, Allen already met them."

Road tilted her head. "Can I come along?"

Allen smiled at her. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea, I remember your opinion of normal people."

Tyki used the opportunity to add "And don't you have some homework you have to do?" Road's face fell and a annoyed expression took the place of the smile that had been there before. A few candles were suddenly floating around her.

Allen elbowed him. "You're not helping, Tyki." he muttered, loud enough for Tyki to hear him but to quiet for Road's ears. Then he looked at Road. "If you let us pass unharmed, I'll help you get that stuff done. Sound fair?"

Road seemed to think about it, then the candles disappeared. "Okay, but I'll be waiting here until you return and we'll start immediately once you're back."

Allen sighed, but he knew he had no choice in the matter. "Alright, fine. We'll start once I return."

Road seemed really happy. Tyki grinned at him while they went towards the gate. "Well well, I think you accomplished something we all thought impossible."

Allen looked at Tyki in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Tyki grinned. "You manged to get Road to look forward to doing her homework."

Allen glared at him. "Shut up. Let's go, or your friends will have forgotten what your face looks like."

Tyki's grin widened. "Let's go."

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Jesaia looked around them. They were at the entrance of the mine, surrounded by forest. The only thing different from the forest they had only recently got lost in was the wide path leading to the village they had just left. Val was waiting hidden in the forest, she wouldn't actually fight unless it was unavoidable, but she could see the path and would warn them in a way only they wold notice, Friedrich had positioned himself inside of the mine, hidden in the shadows. He himself had to sit in the open. If things would go according to plan, this wouldn't even take five minutes, assuming of course, Tyki was alone like they had planned. But it was unlikely there would be companions, considering the Noah tried to keep everything away from his human friends. Should there be a companion, the three of them should be enough to take care of him. But Jesaia was still disgusted by what Friedrich had done, and they would have a discussion about this, but now was not the time. Now all they could do was wait.

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Tyki seemed to be in a extremely good mood. Allen smiled at Tyki's cheerfulness. But when they reached the door, he got a feeling something was terribly wrong. Tyki stepped into something that splashed. When they looked down, they saw that Tyki had stepped in a puddle of blood. They ran into the small shack, and the compassion inside of Allen went haywire. All three of Tyki's friends were laying in puddles of blood. Tyki ran towards them. All three were alive, but they had wounds that were bleeding the life out of them. The grown men had wounds on their shoulders and their limbs, while the boy had rather shallow wounds in his stomach. Allen had subconsciously activated his Innocence and as he looked at the wounds, the cape draped itself around them and somehow his _Clown Belt_ became a makeshift bandage. It wasn't as hard or as durable as his usual _Clown Belt,_ but as bandage, it wasn't supposed to be. And it seemed to stop the bleeding. Relieved, Allen turned to Tyki.

"I don't think they're in immediate danger and people have already found this and a doctor will be here soon." He noticed Tyki wasn't listening to him. "Tyki what's wrong. Why are you looking at... the... wall...?" But Allen had seen what Tyki was staring at.

Written on the wall, in what seemed to be blood, was a simple message: AT THE MINE

Tyki's face had darkened, and Allen knew what was going to happen even before Tyki spun around and stampeded out of the shack. Allen deactivated his Innocence and ran after him.

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Suddenly, Jesaia heard the sound of Val's flute. The melody could only be heard by the ones that are supposed to be affected by them, unless Val didn't want them to, so there was no risk of anyone else hearing it. The signal they heard were telling them, that the target was coming, but a additional tone alerted him that there was one more person with him. Who was it and how much trouble would he bring?

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Allen was walking beside Tyki, who had already transformed into his Noah-form and had a large Tease in each of his hands, his face twisted with rage.

"Calm down, Tyki. I know you're upset, but if you rush things, it might not end well."

Tyki glared at Allen, sheer malice in his eyes. "I wouldn't call it 'upset'. You have no idea how I feel. I nearly lost my equivalent of my life. I have my white side and my black side, and if loose on of them, my life will loose its meaning. I would be trapped in the living death of boredom."

Allen didn't know how to answer that. He thought about what Tyki had said. "Tyki, you know that the attack on your friends was most likely only done to make you make a mistake, right?" But then they entered the opening that led to the mine. There was a blond kid waiting for them. Allen recognized him, he was the fire-controlling exorcist that he had met before. But this was different. Allen felt the tension in the air, and he felt a bit nervous, even though he didn't know why.

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Valkyrie had activated her Innocence on the first Level. At this stage, _Phobos_ was not strong enough to cause real fear in Noah, but it was enough to make them nervous. It just might be enough to trigger the reaction they needed. She gave Jesaia the tone that told him to attack.

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Jesaia heard the tone and activated his Innocence. "_Inferno Hammer!_"

A pillar of flames shot towards the heads of the two people. While the black-haired boy jumped out of the way, the Noah sunk into the ground. Jesaia smiled sadly. The trap had sprung.

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Friedrich grinned. The target was in the trap, and the only thing he had to do was spring it. "Innocence activate. _Gaia Hatchet_" The weapon took its true shape and Friedrich slammed it into the ground. "_Earth Spear_" he muttered and grinned. Since the Noah had only sunk into the ground up to the chest, Friedrich would be able to see the priceless look that was about to appear on the Noah's face.

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Allen looked at Tyki. He saw Tyki sink into the ground while he himself was forced to make jump to the left to avoid letting his face turn into charcoal. He looked back at Tyki, who had sunk into the earth to dodge. It seemed like the smartest move, since he'd be safe from the flames below ground. Tyki seemed about to dash to the boy, obviously intending to kill him, but then all malice left his face. He looked down his body, but Allen had no idea what was wrong since the soil hid all that was happening. Then Tyki rose back into the air, and Allen could see what was wrong. Tyki didn't rise by choice, a long cone of rocks and earth was dragging him into the air... right into the flames. Allen was in shock. Then he turned to his Noah-form and activated his Innocence while Tyki reappeared above the pillars of fire, slightly burned and clutching the cone that had impaled him to prevent it from piercing him further.

"TYKI!" Allen shouted as he jumped through the flames, protected by his coat and landed on the structure of earth. He ran up to Tyki and when he reached him, he used his claw to slash off the tip, grabbed Tyki and jumped back down to the ground. And not a moment too soon. Allen heard a loud shout coming from the mine.

"_Gaia Needle!_" And suddenly spikes started to shoot out of the cone. While they remained connected to the main cone, they were at least five feet long and covered the entire structure. It looked like the mix between a porcupine and a snake. Allen gulped. Had he cut off the tip a moment later, Tyki would have been skewered to death. One of the spikes grazed Allen's cheek, a few others would have killed him had _Crown Clown_'s cape not hardened and deflected them.

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"Shit!" Friedrich cursed. That other boy could only be Allen Walker. He had ruined everything. In less than a second, the boy had jumped on the _Earth Spear_, cut Tyki loose and had even evaded the attack that should have finished Tyki off, saving the Noah's life. But it wasn't a complete disaster. While the attack had only meant to lure the Noah underground, it had given him burns that would leave him immobilized for a while. And if nothing went wrong, he might bleed to death... wait, what was that? The cloak had formed some sort of bandage. He ran out of the mine and saw that Valkyrie had also left her hiding place. They would have to eliminate Walker first, he had formed some sort of barrier out of the secretion of his cape to protect Tyki. Friedrich had already seen that that stuff was harder than his attacks, so the Noah was safe while Allen was alive, or at least conscious. He ran towards Jesaia, who had stopped his attack in surprise. The yank was looking at Allen Walker like he'd seen a ghost.

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Jesaia looked at the boy in disbelief. That couldn't be true. "You're the boy that showed us the way to that village. a"

The boy nodded. "That's right, and your sense of direction must really suck if you landed here."

Jesaia grinned for a second, then he became serious. "Our mission was to kill Tyki Mikk. I assume you won't hand him over, looking at the shield you cast around him, so we'll have to go through you. Wait, are you Allen Walker?"

The boy nodded again, then he turned serious as well. "And what you did to Tyki's innocent friends was also part of your mission? Who did that?" Both the boy and the girl pointed at Friedrich. Allen sighed. "I thought so. I knew there was a reason I hated you since the first time I saw you."

Friedrich grinned. "How nice, your instincts tell you I'm the most dangerous?"

Allen shook his head. "I'm not scared of you, but every part of me, including my Innocence, is yearning to kill you. Hey, not so fast, young lady." Allen dodged a strike from Val's lightning-charged flute. Then his eyes widened.

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Friedrich had signaled Valkyrie to dash at the boy. She obeyed and Friedrich grinned. Allen's attention would be diverted away from him and her body was covering them from the boy's sight. Friedrich raised his ax and slammed it into the ground. "_Earth Spikes_" he muttered. Unlike the _Earth spear_, which was one spike aiming precisely as the target, his new move was more like a energy snake going underground and raising seven feet long spikes pointing in the direction it was moving along its path. Without knowing it, Valkyrie was hiding the spikes from Walker's eyes until one of them hit her in the back.

Jesaia was shocked. Without a moment's hesitation, Friedrich had sacrificed Valkyrie for a chance to hit Allen. He saw how she hung on the spike that hit her just above the hip, her feet dangling a few inches above the ground. "FRIEDRICH, YOU BASTARD!"

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Allen jumped out of the path of the spikes, then he returned to the girl and carefully pulled he off the spike. This was the fifth person he had to bandage today. He was just thankful that this ability had manifested, otherwise they all would have probably died away under his hands. When the bleeding had stopped, Allen turned to the other two, but kept his focus on the man with the ax. The murderous hatred inside of him increased and the claws on his left hand twitched with anticipation. "You'll pay for that." He calmly said.

Then the blond boy spoke. "I must fight you, but know that I respect you and detest _him._" He looked at Friedrich. "The enemy cares more for our comrades than you, Friedrich. You are a disgrace and I swear, if something like this happens again, there won't even be _ashes_ left of you."

The man looked at him. "Shut your mouth and attack, chandelier."

"I'm not sure where I should aim." Jesaia muttered, then he noticed Allen had carried the unconscious Val out of the combat area and returned, ready for combat.

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Allen knew that battle was unavoidable. But he wondered why he hated that man so much. As if to answer him, _Crown Clown_'s hood covered the back of his head and his ears. He could hear a loud, inhuman cry, filled with agony, filling his ears and causing him enormous pain. Allen grabbed his head in pain.

"It looks like your Innocence is trying to help us." Friedrich mocked as he ran towards him. Allen jumped out of the way. "Nimble little bastard." Friedrich muttered in disappointment.

Jesaia clasped his hands and raised them skywards. Flames shot into the sky, then Jesaia muttered "_Rain of Fire_" and flaming spears shot towards Allen, who blocked them with his cape. Friedrich used the opportunity to slam him to the ground.

Why was Allen's Innocence sending him such painful noise? He didn't understand it, but he had problems focusing on the fight. Then the mask covered Allen's eyes and for a moment he thought his Innocence was trying to blind him. Then he noticed something. He could see, but now he saw things that weren't there before. He saw circles coming out of the ax the man was holding. Then he understood.

"It's not my Innocence that's screaming, it's _yours_. Your Innocence is crying out to be released from you." As soon as Allen spoke those words, the noise in his ears vanished. He could focus on the fight again. He slammed the man into a tree, where he slumped together, and turned to the boy. He dashed towards the blond boy and was surprised when the boy used his fire to shoot himself at him as well.

Jesaia dashed towards Allen, boosted by his _Jetstream_, then he raised his left fist. Black fire was surrounding it. "_Hellfire Fist!_ " he shouted, then he punched into the cape Allen used to block the attack. When Jesaia pulled his arm back, the black flames were still burning on the cape. Allen looked at them. "Those are special flames, they burn everything and nothing but my will can extinguish them. You will burn alive."

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Friedrich had only pretended to be knocked out. He slowly rose up, prepared his ax and quietly ran towards Allen, who was facing Jesaia. He could attack that boy from behind. 'Never turn away from an opponent until you are sure he is dead. That's my first lesson to you, and the price will be your life!' He was almost in striking range and his grin widened.

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Allen looked at the black flames that were slowly spreading on his cape. "_Clown Belt_" he muttered and the cape formed a bubble around the flames and when it dropped to the floor, the fire was trapped inside. "And I can lock your flames up like that. Even if your flames burn through that, they won't burn me. What?"

Allen looked behind him. His cape had billowed up and formed those thread-like ends that had smashed the Level 3 Allen had fought in the Asian Branch to pieces. Now he saw the man with the ax jumping backwards, narrowly avoiding being sliced to ribbons. What a shame. Allen blinked. How did that happen?

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Jesaia was asking himself that same question. Allen had obviously not noticed Friedrich, hell, he hadn't noticed him either, but somehow that cape had gone on a counter-offensive. The ground behind Allen looked like the scratching post for an army of cats. Jesaia remembered Allen had said his Innocence wanted Friedrich dead. He hadn't been kidding. Jesaia jumped back as a stray strand flew his way and nearly sliced him in half.

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Allen looked in shock. He wondered what was up with that man. Why did he despise him so much? He suddenly got the feeling that if it could, his Innocence would have rolled its eyes. Then the mask slid over his eyes again, and to Allen's amazement, writing appeared.

**ACTIVATE YOUR EYE**. Allen took the mask off and obeyed. He opened his left eye... and had to throw up.

He could see the man's soul. It seemed his eye had traded the shared vision into a greater focus, allowing Allen to view the souls of the living as well, though it didn't seem to work on Noah. A part of Allen guessed it would work on parasitic-types either, but most of his attention was on the man's soul. It was worse than looking at a Level 4.

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Friedrich had no idea what was going on, but he didn't care. Allen Walker was hurling his guts out and unable to fight. He kicked the boy in the side so he rolled on his back. Then he raised his ax and aimed at the neck. It was too dangerous to prolong this.

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Allen looked at the soul again. What did the man do to turn his soul into _that_?! His soul was surrounded by darkness, just like the soul of a Level 3, but the face was clearly visible, sadly. The man's face was a grimace of malice, madness and perversion. It was talking, something Allen knew only from the most desperate of souls, but this one wasn't crying for help.

"More! I want more blood! I want to hear more screams, I want to feel them break, I want to smell more terror, I want them to taste more anguish, I WANT TO SEE MORE DEATH!!!"

But the worst part was behind the man's soul. Like in a grotesque imitation of angel wings, chains were sprouting out of the soul's back, other souls bound inside of them. Those souls were crying and Allen could see that they all died a violent death. The souls had nothing in common, Allen saw men and women, people that seemed to have been criminals and little children. And they were begging to be released. Allen understood that this man had, most likely without even knowing it, bound the souls of his victims to himself, denying them even the peace of death. Akuma used human souls as a power-source, but this man only bound them to him for his own, sick pleasure.

Allen stared at the man who had committed such monstrous acts, and he knew that this man could not be allowed to exist another day, otherwise there would be another tragedy.

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Friedrich looked at the boy. Even though he was itching to bathe in his blood, he decided to play the role of a good man once more.

"You are going to die now, Allen Walker. As an exorcist of the Black Order and a man of the church, I, Friedrich Himmelhund, will take your last confession. Do you have any regrets?" The boy looked at him. One eye was normal except for its golden color, the other one was black with a few red rings instead of an iris. Then he spoke.

"_I have got one regret."_ Something in that voice gave Friedrich a bad feeling. Something was different from before. Jesaia came a bit closer to hear this, even though he kept his distance. He didn't want to be anywhere near that monster in the coat of an exorcist.

Friedrich pulled himself together. "And what is your regret?" The boy looked at him.

"_That I have not killed you yet."_ Friedrich slammed the ax down and blood shot skywards.

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"Sir, Operation _End of Pleasure_ has met some difficulties." The CROW watching seemed a bit hesitant. Harlequin's flames had come closer and soon, he would have to withdraw.

"What is it? Is Tyki still in combat?" Levrier seemed nervous.

"No sir, he's out cold after our plan pushed him through Harlequin's fire, but he wasn't alone."

Levrier groaned. Complications!"Who is it?"

The CROW gulped. "Allen Walker."

Levrier cursed. Why was that brat everywhere? "What's the situation?"

"Himmelhund and Jesaia seem to have a slight advantage, something seems to be wrong with Walker. First he was holding his head, and just a minute ago his breakfast came back for another visit." Now this was good news.

Levrier leaned back. "And what's happening now?"

The CROW checked. "Himmelhund is about to execute Walker and now... ouch! That must hurt."

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Friedrich stared at the empty ground beneath him and the four deep cuts on his left shoulder. The boy had vanished and was now standing behind him, blood on his clawed fingers.

"You bastard! For the good of mankind, I will kill you." Friedrich ground his teeth in anger.

Allen tilted his head. "Now that's not a nice thing to say to another person." He said in a friendly, yet somewhat intimidating tone.

Friedrich snorted. "You're not a person, you're a disease! I heard of the de-Fuego-affair."

Allen seemed surprised. "De-Fuego-affair? I saved Luciano's life, what problem do you have with that?"

Friedrich's ax slammed into the ground. "_Gaia Impaler!_" He shouted and a thin spike shot out of the ground behind Allen, aimed at the boy's heart. Allen jumped out of the way, but Friedrich just laughed. "Where do you intend to run if your enemy is the earth itself?" Allen jumped into a tree and smiled.

"What do you have against me?" Allen asked.

Friedrich's veins seemed to pop. "You rob humans of their humanity!"

Allen's face lost all humor and he looked at him completely serious. "Yes, I have taken human's humanity with their agreement and to spare them from death. You take humans lives against their will for your own sick pleasure." Jesaia, who had extinguished the fires had caused and was about to rejoin the fray, froze and stared at them.

Friedrich blinked. What did this boy know? "What are you talking about?" He asked.

Allen looked at him, something that resembled pity in his eyes. "With my eye I can see your soul, you cannot deceive me. You are a psychopath that loves to inflict pain and fear before killing innocent humans. With the sickness of your mind, you have chained the souls of your victims to you, denying them even the peace of their graves. Your Innocence cries out to be released from you, it was made to destroy Akuma, not slaughter humans. You would never be able so reach 100%, your Innocence will reject you. Now stop trying to pretend you're decent, you can't fool me."

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Jesaia was staring at Friedrich. Could this be true? He knew that the man was not a nice person, to phrase it politely, and had been sentenced to execution before becoming an exorcist, but could he really be that evil? Friedrich's face was frozen in shock, then it gained an expression Jesaia had never seen before. It was the look of a madman, of a bloodthirsty lunatic, and Jesaia knew Allen had spoken the truth.

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Friedrich's expression was now matching the one his soul had and his laughter was filled with madness. Then he looked at Allen. "I thank you for revealing my true nature, you don't know how tiring it is to see all these people everyday and not be able to kill them like you want to. Yes, I love to torture people to death, I enjoy cutting down brokers and what I love even more is hurting the people that protect Akuma because they think they're family. I remember a mother whose son was an Akuma. I broke and cut off her all limbs, ripped out her eyes and pulled out her teeth, one at a time and all she did was beg me to spare her child. I smashed the Akuma before I blew her lights out to hear her last cries of desperation, it was so fun. You say I bind their souls to me? Maybe that's why I can remember what I did to every single one of them like it was yesterday. A wonderful feeling, knowing that the memories of my greatest actions will never fade."

Allen's face had gotten a weird expression, and now he was emitting malice like a candle warmth and light. "I. Will. Kill. You! Even though I am Compassion, no, _because_ I am Compassion, I cannot leave you alive. If I spare you now, you will murder innocent people and bind them to you. I should have killed you back in the forest, you are far too twisted to leave alive."

Friedrich grinned madly. "Try it! The new day will shine on your corpse and my victory."

Allen looked at him and spoke with a terrifying calm. "The new day? The new day is something you will not see."

Friedrich made a step backwards. He had never felt this before, not even when he walked towards his executioner. Was he.. scared? Then Allen Walker was behind him again and there were deep cuts in his left leg. He turned to the boy. "How did you?"

Allen looked at him. "When a parasitic-type like me activates his Innocence, his strength, speed, reflexes, everything is multiplied."

"I'm no idiot!" Friedrich hissed. "I know that! But you're still way too fast."

Allen looked at him. "You're not very bright, are you? I am now a Noah, my strength, speed and everything else are already many times better than yours. And my Innocence boost that even more. You cannot even _touch_ me."

Friedrich's eyes widened as he realized that the boy, no, the Noah in front of him was telling the truth. He looked at Jesaia, who was staring at him in disgust. "I still have command over you, so I order you to attack!"

Walker's face was almost soft, even though his cape was billowing around his body like he was standing in a twister. "Don't worry, I am Noah's compassion after all. Your death is necessary, but it will be swift. You probably won't even know what happened before you start your descent to hell."

Friedrich was still looking at Jesaia. "Attack him, NOW!" There was panic in the man's voice.

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Jesaia bit his lip and dashed at them. The white figure dashed at him and they locked hands. Over the cape that was still flapping around wildly, Jesaia could see Friedrich. He had expected the man to start another attack from behind, but what Jesaia was seeing was different.

Friedrich was jumping backwards, trying to avoid punches and kicks that were thrown at him with incredible speed. A gray-skinned figure was attacking Friedrich. Impossible, had Tyki woken up? Jesaia looked at the place were the Noah had been laying. He was still there, protected in the sphere Allen had made for him. Of course he was, even if Tyki had awakened, he was injured and badly burnt, so he would be unable to even move, let alone fight. Jesaia looked back at Friedrich and his opponent. If it wasn't Tyki, the only explanation was that another Noah had been tailing those two. Friedrich's ax was suddenly spinning through the air, but Friedrich was already raising his arm to grab it. Shit, they were overpowered! Then Jesaia's eyes widened. The cape billowed up and everything was white. He heard a inhuman scream of rage that simply couldn't be caused by a human or a Noah, then all went black.

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When Jesaia woke up, it was already dark and Valkyrie was looking at him. "You're awake." She said and _smiled_ at him. She must have been hurt worse than he thought.

"How long was I out?" Jesaia asked.

Val seemed to think, then she shrugged. "A few hours, maybe three."

Jesaia looked at her. "Are you okay?"

She smiled again. "I haven't felt this good in years."

Jesaia really liked this Valkyrie much better than the lifeless doll. But then he remembered something. "Where is Friedrich? Where are the Noah?"

"The Noah have left long ago and Friedrich is over there." She pointed into the woods where Jesaia could see a kneeling figure. He stood up and walked towards it.

"Friedrich, we need to talk! Hey, are you listening to me? Hey, Friedri..." He stopped mid-sentence.

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When Allen pulled the still unconscious Tyki through the gate back into the arc, he saw Road was waiting for him.

"Hey Allen, took you long enough, now let's start with... TYKI!" She ran towards them and looked at Tyki. The burns were looking terrible and even though Tyki was in his Noah form, they weren't healing. She looked at Allen. "What happened?"

Allen shook his head. "We'll talk later, Road. For now, could you find someone who can heal Innocence-caused wounds? The Earl or maybe one of the Skull might know what to do."

She nodded and ran to get help. Allen looked at Tyki.

"And we only wanted to visit a few friends."

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Jesaia stared at Friedrich. The man was on his knees, his head leaning on the left shoulder. He was bare-chested, his cloak nowhere in sight, and there was a two inch wide hole in his back, right where the heart was. Jesaia could see parts of the broken spine through the hole. Friedrich's arms were wide apart, as if he had tried to hug a wall and they were held in place by what looked like black rose vines with wicked thorns. There seemed to be something on his chest, and as Jesaia walked around the broken body, he knew that Friedrich was dead. Then he looked into the glazed eyes and saw that there was a single word carved into the man's chest:

SINNER

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Chapter 15 is done. I've written my first rather gory scene, and I must say, I'm not too happy. I guess I'm just not a gore fan, I don't think it sounds that great either, but that's just my opinion. It only serves to point out that Friedrich is, or rather was, a ruthless bastard. I had never planned to actually put this here, but I owe a pal around fifty bucks and he said he'd forget my debt if I try to write some gore and put it in my story, so here it is, Marco, and we're even.

Anyway, this is the longest chapter I wrote, see it as an apology for the last chapter, it was a bit short. I didn't want to start _End of Pleasure_ in that chapter and had no idea what else to write. Again, this won't become my usual chapter length anytime soon.

In case anyone cares, Asclepius was the Greek demigod of medicine. Son of Apollo, god of healing amongst others, and a mortal woman, he mastered the arts of healing to a degree that he could raise the dead. Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt, there are different reasons given for the reason he did it, and immortalized him as the constellation of Ophiuchus, 'The Serpent Holder'. Hypnos is the god of sleep, brother of the god of death Thanatos.

And I know I skipped some of the story, you'll find out what happened next chapter. And now the questions.

1. What do you think will happen? What _happened_?

2. Who was the Noah that attacked Friedrich?

3. I'll reveal Allen's power in the next two chapters at most. What do you think it is?

4. How did you like this chapter?

5. What can I do better? What is already pretty good?

6. Tell and ask me whatever you want.

To Cross the Damned Soul: enough violence for you? And another hooray for Gabriel, the only one who guessed Friedrich's ability correctly. Honestly, I was disappointed. I thought the power would be obvious since Gaia is, as Gabriel has correctly pointed out, the goddess of earth. Or did the others think it was too obvious to be right?

To addenza: Luciano's Innocence is always a scythe, sorry, but the others were closer. But congratulations, your guess was the closest one to my actual scenario.

To signrain: I hope I granted your wish for the action scene, I think it came out okay.

To Winged Golden Tiger: Did you like Crown Clown's actions? There will be more ahead.

I try to keep in touch with my reviewers, they're the ones that keep me working on my stories. But the next update might take a while, there's some stuff for school that I have to do this week. But the more reviews there are, the harder I'll try to squeeze some time to write. Oh, and I'll still try to update both stories at the same time, but should I get a writer's block in one, I'll still update the other.

Please Review


	16. Doppelgänger

Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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The Earl arrived quickly, accompanied by a few Skull and Road. The Skull quickly swarmed around Tyki, mumbling spells. Then they turned to the Earl.

"We can heal him, bit it will take some time. And he should rest a bit afterwards."

The Earl nodded and looked at Allen. "What happened?"

Allen looked at him. "We wanted to visit a few of Tyki's friends, but we were ambushed. I think they were aiming for Tyki, they beat his friends to a bloody pulp to get him angry. One of them used fire, but Tyki originally dodged him."

The Earl looked at him. "Then why is he so burned up?"

Allen sighed. "Because he went below ground to dodge the attack, which was the main intention of the exorcists. One of them controlled earth and impaled him there, raising him right into the flames."

The Earl nodded. "Then what happened? What happened to the one that controlled earth?"

Allen looked at him, his eyes emotionless. "I killed him." When the Earl raised his brows, Allen continued. "He was a bloodthirsty monster that should not exist."

The Earl nodded. "Very well, what happened exactly?"

Allen looked at him. "I'll explain later, right now, I'm worried about Tyki."

The Earl accepted this, but then he asked one more question. "If it was an exorcist that attacked, where is his Innocence?"

Instead of answering, Allen held up a black ax bladed on both sides, with something not clearly visible in the center, right where a green orb had been before. Then he went to Road and looked at what the Skull were doing with Tyki.

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Jesaia and Val were back at Headquarters, exhausted and annoyed. Komui and Levrier were questioning them. Val had gone silent, but it was different from her usual empty silence. She seemed annoyed, but Levrier didn't notice it, perhaps because he didn't really looked at her. Then she simply stood up and left. Levrier seemed confused, then he shrugged it off and turned his full attention to Jesaia, who proceeded to completely ignore him.

"What exactly happened? Did you succeed your mission? Why is Friedrich dead?" Jesaia didn't even look up as Levrier seemed to go down the road to a heart-attack.

Komui sighed and started to talk to Jesaia. "What exactly happened on your mission?"

Jesaia took a deep breath, then he started to talk. "We found the miners and Friedrich nearly killed them." At this point, Komui gave Levrier a surprised glare, but decided they would discuss this another time and turned his attention back to Jesaia. "Tyki arrived, foaming with rage, but he wasn't alone. Allen Walker was with him and when Tyki fell into the trap, he stopped the killing blow. Then his Innocence covered his ears and he said something about Friedrich's Innocence screaming in pain and he proceeded to kick our asses. Then he activated his eye and threw up."

Komui seemed surprised. "Do you know why he threw up?"

Jesaia nodded. "He said his eye could now see though the souls of the living, and that Friedrich was a bloodthirsty lunatic that enjoyed torture and death. He said that Friedrich was even tying the souls of his victims to himself, denying them the peace of death."

Levrier shook his head. "That's on obvious lie. Friedrich Himmelhund was a responsible person doing what was necessary. He was a great man that..."

Jesaia interrupted him. "He was a dangerous madman that loved to kill, he admitted it right after Allen blew his cover. He used Val as a cover for his attack and speared her. If Allen hadn't fixed her up, she would have bled to death."

At that point, Link appeared to report about the topic. "We found out that this weaker and softer _Clown Belt_ stops the flow of blood, disinfects and in fact increases the recovery speed. The head nurse has decided to leave the makeshift bandage on exorcist Nocturn for now."

Komui nodded and looked at Jesaia, while Levrier seemed to be in shock at the revelations about his favorite exorcist. Jesaia decided to give him another push and see if he broke.

"Friedrich said something about the agony of wanting to kill people around him, yet not being able to. My guess is that he would have soon snapped anyway. And then round 2 started and we found out he had been going easy on us the entire time."

Komui looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"When a parasitic-type Innocence is activated, strength, speed and all that stuff is boosted, right?" Jesaia asked. Komui nodded and Jesaia continued. "Well, he had gone into Noah-form when I shot the first fire his way and afterwards he activated his Innocence to save Tyki. So it didn't boost a human, but a Noah. And Noah's are already as fast and strong as an activated parasite. I didn't even see him move when he slashed Friedrich. And then he charged at me, rather, I charged at him when Friedrich was yelling in terror."

"And what were those vines that Friedrich was tied in? We needed Kanda's Mugen to slash through them and the entire plant took forever to burn even under your _Hellfire_." Levrier had regained his ability of speech.

Jesaia shrugged. "I have no idea. I was out cold and when I woke up, Friedrich was already hanging in the ropes. Oh and Komui, what type of Innocence is _Crown Clown_ again? I mean, first it was just his arm, then the cape came, so how do you categorize that?"

Komui looked at him. "Allen's Innocence is a body-armor, why?"

Jesaia shook his head. "No it's not. Right now..."

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_Flashback_

Jesaia looked at the Noah that was attacking Friedrich while he tried to push Allen away. Then his eyes widened. "Impossible!" he hissed. The Noah attacking Friedrich was Allen Walker! He wasn't wearing the cape, but the cross on his left hand was glowing white. But if Allen was over there, then who was he fighting with? He looked at the white figure. It was _Crown Clown_, but now that he took a closer look, he only saw the mask, the claw he was holding, and white. Maybe it was because the light now hit the mask from a different angle, but the entire mask suddenly looked amused. Then the cape billowed up and Jesaia saw that it was empty. He had been fighting the Innocence, but without the host. Then he was surround by white, before everything turned black.

_End of Flashback_

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"...it is a Doppelgänger. It can separate from Allen and act on its own. It knocked me out while Allen fought Friedrich. But I wasn't conscious when Friedrich died, and I think Val was still out cold at the time, I woke up before she did." That last part was a lie, but there was no need to inform Levrier about the change that had occurred with Val. He would find out soon enough, and Jesaia hoped it would be a painful discovery.

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Road and Allen had been kicked out by the Skull who needed absolute focus. Tyki would be completely healed, and there was not much they could do. Allen had to make good on his promise and help Road with her homework. It was not that difficult and Allen had no problems solving the problems, but he was worried about Tyki. Road noticed that and looked at Allen.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. But what happened?"

Allen explained her how Tyki and his friends were hurt and how he fought the exorcists. He described what he had seen with his left eye and how the madman used a comrade as cannon fodder. He described how his Innocence separated from him and made the white phantom appear behind her as proof. He noticed he could somewhat control the Innocence, but it could move without his help, not that it hadn't displayed that ability before. Then he started to describe the last seconds of the battle.

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_Flashback_

Allen noticed he had split up from his Innocence, but he still had the boost in strength and speed, so he was actually glad that his Innocence was keeping the other opponent busy, though he hoped that _Crown Clown_ wouldn't kill him. The man before him could not be allowed to exist another day, he was like a mad Rottweiler in an nursery, and it was Allen's job to put him to sleep before his madness claimed any more victims, but the boy seemed okay.

Allen dashed at Friedrich, who tried to bring the ax down on him. Allen hit it at the hilt and the weapon flung out of Friedrich's hand and into the air. While Friedrich grabbed at it, Allen noticed a twitch in his left hand. He suddenly knew that his Innocence had just knocked out the boy. It seemed that when separated, he and his Innocence had some sort of telepathic connection. But he would study that later.

Allen grabbed for the ax and closed his fingers around it a moment before Friedrich would have reached it. Suddenly a red aura formed around his left arm and shot up the shaft of the weapon. Then it reached the actual blade. The weapon became bigger and sharper while it turned black. The green crystals that had been visible in the center were covered and shape-shifted. On both sides one could now see the face of a human skull. Then the jaws of both skulls opened and an inhuman cry that curdled the blood of all who heard it resonated from them. Allen noticed it sounded almost like the cries he had heard before thanks to his Innocence, but this cry was different. The cries before had been cries of agony, a call for help. The cry that now resonated in their eardrums was filled with rage. The Innocence wanted revenge for all the lives this man had forced it to take. Allen brought the ax down.

Friedrich had seen what had happened to his weapon and when it screamed, he jumped backwards and the ax missed him. He saw how deep the blade sunk into the ground and realized Allen Walker had been serious when he promised him a swift death. That blow would have split his head and probably a good part of his torso in half and he would have died before the pain would have reached him. But he was not ready to die and give up on all the slaughter he could still cause.

Allen saw Friedrich was on the retreat, but before he could react, he felt something emanating from the weapon. Then a spike shot out of the ground and hit Friedrich right in the center of his upper back. A gruesome crunch was heard as the spike smashed the spine and pierced into the heart. Allen had the feeling Friedrich's heart was looking like what Allen's and Luciano's had looked like, only that what caused the hole was still there. Then smaller thorns shot out of the main spike, shredding the heart and instantly killing Friedrich. All this happened in less than a second. Then the thorns retreated back into the spike and the spike pulled itself out of the man's back with a disgusting sound and sunk back into the ground. Then Allen felt something getting drained out of his body. He shrugged and walked to Friedrich. He gabbed the exorcist's coat the man was still wearing and pulled it off him.

"You don't deserve to wear this." he muttered and suddenly three glowing red waves washed over the coat and it turned to dust. Allen shrugged, apparently he figured out something new about his power: matter couldn't take his power in rapid succession. Then, suddenly and without a warning, black, thorned vines wrapped himself around Friedrich's arms and pulled him into the forest. Allen looked at his hands, then at the ax.

"Did I do that or was that you? Or maybe it was both of us?" He wondered as he followed the mans trail. He found him in a kneeling position with arms spread. His Innocence had returned to him and draped itself around him. Allen smiled. He had seen how the chains that bound the souls to him had broken and how they had vanished, a relieved smile on their faces. Allen noticed that while the thorns had shredded his insides, not a single one of them had pierced the man's chest. Allen decided to leave a message for those who would find him, just so they knew what they were facing. He carved the word _sinner_ into Friedrich's chest, the immense hatred inside of him had not yet completely vanished even with the man's death.

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Inside of Allen's mind, the musician was howling with laughter, knowing that Allen couldn't hear him.

"_**Wonderful Allen." **_He shouted, still laughing._** "You are surpassing my wildest dreams. To think that this was your ability. I understand it now, and it has no restriction but the ones you give it, **__**even the normal bounds of Influence-types cannot hold you. Once you master it, you will be an unstoppable force. I was known as one of the most powerful Noah of all times and you dwarf my power by far. While I was the lord of all that could hear, the very creation itself is your plaything, your toy. Nothing in this world is beyond your grasp, not even Innocence or Dark Matter. None can stand above you, even the Earl is your equal at best. You will succeed where all others have failed. You will avenge me and your other brethren. You are not dependent on anyone, what you desire you can claim. The very rules of creation that are too far above the world to affect it are trying to restrict you, and even their effect can be bended by your power. Only god and those that have his ability can withstand you and deserve the title of your equal. Once you can fully control the power, you may accomplish what myself and others could only attempt. Mana, you could not have picked a worthier successor. While his power will take longer to fully master, even the Earl will have difficulties facing him and reaching a draw when he reaches perfection. Once he has attained enough control, our wish can be granted, Cross has already said he would help. He holds the key to our success, and Allen will make it possible to reach the lock. But for now, let's give this marvelous flower some time to bloom."**_

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Then he activated his left eye and looked at the other two. The boy's soul was not connected to any chains, but Allen could see some other things that told him a lot about him. Allen figured that what he saw meant the boy was hiding emotional scars behind a smile, but that the smile was more than a simple mask. The boy was most likely always good for a joke, but when he became serious, he'd be frightening. Allen had a feeling this boy had not shown all he could do yet. Allen wondered how high his ratio was and the mask once again slid over his face to answer.

**94%** was written right above the gloves. Allen was impressed and turned towards the girl.

To his surprise, she was awake and looked at him. Allen gasped when he saw her soul. It was wrapped up in _spiked_ chains! Allen had never seen anything like this before, but he knew he wouldn't leave it at that.

_End of Flashback_

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Road had listened to Allen without interrupting him once, and Allen was grateful for that. Then Luciano ran into the room, gasping for breath.

"You gotta come see this." He managed to stammer ."The Earl has pitted Michael against ten Level 4."

Without a word, both Road and Allen jumped up and followed Luciano.

When they arrived, they saw that it was not a fair fight. Ten against one, that was not an even match. For that, they needed at least twenty. Michael was in his true form and it was clear that the Level 4 didn't stand the ghost of a chance. The Earl seemed to see that as well, as he soon after stopped the fight and looked at the damage. Not a single Level 4 had gotten away without multiple injuries, but most were fixable. But the Earl kicked two Level 4 away.

"These are damaged beyond repair, they're of no use to me anymore." Indeed, those two were looking terrible. They were covered in cracks and holes the size of melons were in their torsos. One of them was missing more than half his face and the puppet-like limbs on both of them were broken many times. Indeed, that was far beyond the point of no return. The Earl took the still usable ones and vanished. Allen looked at the broken figures that had landed in front of his feet.

"Well, if he doesn't need them..." He muttered and a white aura surrounded his left arm. He turned the pentacle on the first ones forehead and a burst of white energy flowed into the broken form that melted together to a big, white lump that twisted as it changed form. Allen ignored the display and repeated what he had done on the second Akuma and he started to change shape as well. Allen suddenly felt shaky and Road rushed to support him.

"You're not used to using your power yet. When Tyki started, he couldn't walk through a closed door without collapsing. Jasdevi would require a break when they materialized a paper towel and Skin couldn't even get enough juice going to make a light bulb glow. What you're doing is amazing, but there's no need to push it." She sounded worried.

Allen smiled. "Yes there is. Those two looked like they wouldn't stick around much longer and when will I get the chance to awaken another one of Michael's kind, let alone two? What I do ends the soul's suffering, the darkness is destroyed and the soul and the body actually unite."

Road sighed. "So you're still thinking about the Akuma? You need to relax."

Allen grinned. "I am Noah's compassion, it's only natural I care about suffering."

Now Road started to grin as well. "Right now, you are exhausted, weakened and essentially helpless, so you're at my mercy." Allen gulped. She was right, he would barely lift a finger. Then she kissed him again as she pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

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Lulubelle had been watching this display of emotions together with her new maid, Sophia, with interest.

'Maybe I should tell Cyrill about this, or mention it the next time he asks me if I saw them together, he asks that at least five times a day. He would kill Allen and save me the trouble.' She thought to herself. Then she looked at her nails which Sophia had just finished.

'Or maybe I should just forget this.' Sophia was working very hard, not only on her nails, she was a better cook than the Akuma and she kept both Lulubelle's room and Lulubelle herself looking great. 'Yes, I think I should forget this. At least when Cyrill is around. That doesn't mean I can't tell Allen what I saw.' She smirked. That would be amusing.

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When Road decided to release Allen, the new Level 5's had formed. One of them looked like a young woman that looked to be in her early twenties. Unlike Michael, her entire torso was covered by the white, silk-like material that also covered his lower body. The other one looked like a nine-year-old boy with short hair. Both were without color except for the blood-red angel wings on their backs. They were kneeling in front of Allen. Allen first turned to the little boy.

"What's your name?" He asked.

The boy seemed to think, then he shrugged. "I don't remember. Name me as you wish, my master."

Allen shrugged in disappointment and turned to the woman. "Do you remember your name?"

The woman focused, then she nodded. "My name is Gabrielle, unless you wish to change it."

Road looked at them. "Are all Level 5 such puppets?" The nameless boy stuck his white tongue out at her. Road looked at him. "I'll take that as a no."

Allen seemed to be lost in thought, then he turned to Road. "Do you think I should make them a group?"

Road grinned. "Why not? The Earl has a few groups, so why shouldn't you? Besides the Noah, he has the order of his five most powerful Skull, it's called Pentagram. Can I pick a name?"

Allen looked at her. "Sure, but I won't promise I'll use it."

Luciano decided to talk. "I practically already founded a group of Deminoah even though I'm the only one that fights right now. I am one of the Fallen."

Allen smiled weakly. "It sounds nice. I guess someone told you about the Togaochi, huh?"

Luciano nodded. "Your friend Lavi did."

"I've got it!" Road suddenly shouted. "We have a Michael, and if Gabrielle agrees to shorten her name a bit we have a Gabriel, so why not call the group Archangels?"

Allen nodded. That sounded good. He looked at Gabrielle. "Would you mind if we changed your name to Gabriel?"

The woman smiled at him. "Not at all, as I've said before, we are yours to command. We owe you our souls and we will not forget that."

Road seemed surprised. "Who would've thought that your care for souls would really repay itself?"

Allen ignored that. "Do you know your abilities? Michael knew his one right away. Oh, that reminds me, Michael, would you mind helping me with an experiment?"

Michael shook his head. "Negative. What should I do?"

Allen held up the ax. "Can you use the _Nirvana Field_ on this? I want to see something."

Michael nodded and a black ring appeared five feet above their heads. The ring itself was two feet wide and started to expand in the attempt to become an orb. Allen threw the ax into it before it closed completely. The black orb hovered there for a second, then it vanished. A piece of Innocence was floating in the air for a moment, then it dropped. Allen caught it as a thunder was heard.

Road looked at Allen. "What just happened?"

Allen explained. "Michael's special ability summons that ring you just saw, the size of it can be fragments of millimeters or hundreds of miles. The ring turns into an orb, the _Nirvana field_. Everything within that field, except for Innocence, is reduced to nothing. Matter, energy, air, gravity, and everything else you can think of, nothing is in that space. Once it vanishes, it leaves a vacuum. Air fills that vacuum and we hear a thunder. Basically just like lightning. I've forbidden Michael to use it."

Road nodded. That was way too dangerous to be let loose, it could destroy the entire planet. She looked at the other two, who seemed lost in thought. Gabriel spoke first.

"My ability is the _Realm of Privacy_. I create a field, either stationary or mobile, and only those who I let may remain or enter. There are two settings. In the first setting _banish_, all who are in the field and not wanted there are thrown out of it and it keeps them out like a forcefield. The second setting _vanquish_, does not keep anyone from entering, but it completely annihilates everything that I do not want in my realm. I can change the settings at will."

Allen nodded. This could be useful. He looked at the boy.

"My ability is the _Light of Judgment_. It has two settings, but those are for the intensity, and three stages. The first setting, _dim_, works like normal light, it throws shadows in which my power takes no effect, while _bright_ pierces all and there is no hiding within its effective range. My light only affects those I see as enemies. The weakest stage, _blind_, simply blinds my enemies for a while, just like a bright light normally would. The second stage _harm_ inflicts pain on my foes, it burns them like fire or causes pain without marks, depending on my will. The last one, _destroy_, annihilates all my foes."

Allen nodded. Also useful abilities. "I have decided. Since you have forgotten you name, I will call you Uriel. And I'll take Road's idea. You all are my Archangels."

All three bowed and spoke in unison. "We, the Archangels, are at your command, Allen Walker."

Luciano could resist. He bowed in slight mockery. "And the Fallen are as well. That is, should you decide to make some more."

Allen grinned. "There is in fact someone who might want to join, but all in due time, my friend. Right now I'm starving, let's go eat."

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Valkyrie was laying on her bed, looking at the ceiling. She was thinking about those few moments that had changed everything.

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_Flashback_

She had lain on the ground, helpless and in pain. She could only watch as the boy who had killed the monster Friedrich came closer. She had known that he was mad, but the fear had always stopped her from speaking. She was broken and she didn't care if she died because of an Akuma or Friedrich's thirst for blood. In fact, she could hardly await the day she would leave this world behind. Then Allen Walker was by her side, looking at her with eyes filled with sorrow and care.

"Don't worry," he told her "I won't hurt you, I won't kill you, I will free you." Valkyrie didn't understand what he meant, but then she heard chains and suddenly, she was free of her fear. She felt complete again, just like before Levrier had broken her, just a little sore from the wound. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she realized what she had lost and now regained.

"Thank you." She whispered and Allen smiled.

"I don't know what they did to you, but they can't do it again. You can protect yourself now, so Levrier won't be a problem. As for me, you can be my friend or my foe, I will not hurt you. You have suffered far too much already. Goodbye."

With that, he gave her a last smile and turned away. He released the sphere around Tyki, took him and vanished through a gate. Val slowly stood up and dragged herself to where Friedrich's body lay.

She remained there for a while, then she went to look at Jesaia. He was still unconscious, but his eyelids fluttered. Then they opened.

"You're awake." She said.

_End of Flashback_

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She smiled. There were many things she wanted to do, so it was time for some planning.

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Meanwhile, down at the Order's equivalent of a morgue, the door opened and Jesaia appeared. He went to Friedrich's coffin. He looked at the man with disgust.

"If Allen wouldn't have done it, I would have, and it would have been a lot more painful. You don't deserve to be here Himmelhund, besides all these people that gave their lives for a just cause. So I will do now what I should have done long ago."

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When the sun rose, Levrier was busy yelling at Jesaia. The coffin with Friedrich's corpse had vanished. All that was found were a few traces of ash at the bottom of the mountain. And Jesaia had been so sure that the wind would have scattered it all away.

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And chapter 16 is done. My basic guideline for chapter length is 4000 words, but I get the feeling people are starting to expect more because I am in a giant writing rush. Writing just one story is not easy, two at the same time can be nearly impossible. But enough of my ranting. I apologize for the delay, I had to rewrite this, the first version was crap. I shouldn't write in working breaks.

Anyways, this chapter has brought a lot of new information. I summoned two new Level 5 and explained the powers of all three. I cleared up a few open questions from last chapter and gave some vague ramble about Allen's power. It might not seem that great in the beginning, but it leaves infinite possibilities for me to work with.

And here my questions:

1. How do you like my Archangels and their powers?

2. I will reveal Allen's power next chapter. Does anyone have a idea what it might be?

3. I've given _Crown Clown _even more new abilities, how do you like them?

4. How do you think will Valkyrie take revenge on Levrier?

5. How do you like this chapter?

6. Put everything else you want to tell me here

And here my usual communication with my readers.

To addenza, signrain and Winged Golden Tiger: Congratulations, all of you were right, Allen was the one that attacked Friedrich. And WGT you were close, it was an Innocence that screamed in rage, just not Allen's.

To Jay O'Toole: Fight scenes are hard because everyone thinks they're easy and expects more.

I've also changed my mind again, I will upload chapters when they're done and I think they're okay.

My work here is done, now your work starts:

Please Review


	17. Corruption

Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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Levrier had just received Friedrich's autopsy report. It seemed like the man had been killed by his own attack. How was that possible? Levrier went through the footages he had. Somehow, one of the golems from the de-Fuego-affair had captured the moment exorcist Lee's purer Innocence had made contact with Allen Walker. He could see the blue sparks on Walker's arm, but why were there red sparks on Lee's leg? Wait, if he combined that with the way Friedrich had died, then there was an explanation. He had found a word that described Walker's power, and it explained what happened at the affair. It was time to call a conference.

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Lavi and Jesaia were chatting while they headed to the conference Levrier had ordered all exorcists to attend, Lenalee, Timothy, Miranda and Val right behind them.

"Why do you think he called this stupid conference? Maybe he thinks we don't have anything better to do with our time." Lavi muttered.

"No clue." Jesaia replied.

Timothy looked at them. "Could this be about the itching powder we put in his bed? Or maybe he's upset that we put a spider in the shoe of Komui's secretary, I heard her yelling at Levrier for hours."

Lavi grinned. "No worries on that front, Komui is swearing under oath that he saw me and Jesaia training at the time it happened. I think he's grateful that we disabled his second shadow."

"And also," Jesaia added "Levrier wouldn't hold a speech about that, he would become a mockery. He wouldn't risk the little integrity he has left for something like that. I took old Friedrich out of the morgue, gave him a funeral by fire and scattered him in the winds and he couldn't say anything, even though I would actually admit that one."

Lenalee seemed upset. "I still can't believe Allen did that." She muttered.

Jesaia turned around. "He did what was necessary. I would have done it myself, but he beat me to it. The guy was a lunatic that would have continued his killing-spree if he'd been allowed to live. From what I heard, Allen kept his promise and released him from his misery swiftly. Friedrich probably didn't even notice he died. If it had been me, the man would have slowly burned in _Hellfire_, just so he could get used to how he'll spend the rest of eternity."

Val smiled and muttered "Not quite. He's not in hell, but the realm that follows it."

Timothy looked at her. "What did you say?"

She smiled at him and patted his head. "Nothing." Then she walked ahead. The others watched after her.

Timothy smiled. "I like her a lot better now."

"No kidding." Jesaia added. "After Friedrich bit the dust, she dragged herself back to the town and completely healed Tyki's buddies. I think she also erased the memories, or made them think it was just a dream, I don't know."

Miranda smiled. "It's good that she has regained her self, her eyes are now full of life, but what happened?"

"All hail Allen Walker." Jesaia muttered.

Lenalee seemed surprised, but happy. "Allen did that?"

"He was the only one that had the time to do so, when I woke up, she had already left puppetland. Well, let's go hear what old rules-for-brains has to say."

And with that, they entered as well.

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Levrier looked around. Everyone was there, every exorcist had arrived. It was time to begin. Now if he could only get rid of the constant itch he felt since he woke up. He suspected that Jesaia and Lavi were behind this, but he started to get the feeling that he would never catch them in the act. But now it was time to start this conference.

"I will get straight to the point, we are certain that we have figured out the abilities of Allen Walker."

At that, the exorcists, who had been wearing looks signaling different stages of boredom, snapped to attention and looked at him.

Levrier continued. "From footages and other sources of information we analyzed, we have reached the conclusion that Allen Walker's power is to 'mirror'. He can mirror damage resulting from physical contact, as we seen from his confrontation with Lenalee Lee."

Lavi and the others turned to face Lenalee.

"He's exaggerating, it was just one kick he blocked before I recognized him." She hissed. The others nodded relieved. For a second, they've had visions about a deadly struggle.

Levrier hadn't noticed the reactions and went on. "Should he face long-range attacks, he can most likely completely reflect them back to the user, as we gathered from the remains of Friedrich Himmelhund, who was killed by his own ability, so remain cautious. And we assume he can reflect humans into their darker part, but only with their agreement. That could also explain the lack of the Noah's usual blood thirst, he probably used his ability to reverse his own personality. He most likely has other tricks up his sleeve, so remain cautious. He could be able to do anything, from transferring damage with physical contact to moving through and imprisoning others in mirrors."

Lavi had listened and fought the urge to shake his head. It sounded plausible, but there were too many holes in that theory. For example, how did Allen create a Level 5? No, Allen's power was something completely different.

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Allen wondered why he didn't activate his Innocence when he went to bed. Road had, once again used him to cushion her drop, not that she needed to if she stopped appearing from the ceiling.

But before he had the chance to say something, she was shaking him. "Wake up Allen! Open your eyes, you'll want to see this!" She called and Allen begrudgingly opened his eyes. He saw Tyki opening the door and smiling at him.

Suddenly Allen was wide awake. "Tyki, how do you feel? It looks like you're all healed up, and not even a trace of burnt skin visible."

Tyki grinned. "Never felt better. It's like I was never hit by those attacks. And I heard you avenged me, so all is good. By the way, thanks for saving my hide. So, your first kill, how was it?"

Allen looked at his hands. "Not really a great feeling, I just did what needed to be done. But, I finally figured out my power."

Road looked at Allen. "Really? It was a mystery to all of us, most of the Noah and even the Skull were up guessing, but nobody has had any idea. And trust me, it's nearly impossible to get those bone-heads interested in anything. What is it?"

Tyki nodded. "I only heard about what you can do, and I'm amazed. So you've figured out how to sum it up in a single word?"

Allen nodded. "Yes, it wasn't that hard. I guess the name comes naturally to the Noah that possesses the power."

Road was getting impatient. "Yes it does, now stop buying time and tell us already, the anxiety is killing us!"

Allen shrugged. "My power is _Corruption_. My ability allows me to corrupt whatever I wish. So basically, I corrupt god's creation and claim it as my own. Corruption doesn't necessarily mean that it gets weaker or falls apart, it can also strengthen and improve things. But because of its nature, if it's used on something three times in rapid suggestion, that something will crumble to dust. What exactly my power causes when hitting something I'm not sure, I guess that's somehow decided by my subconsciousness, although I think I'm starting to understand how to alter things to my will. As far as I know, my power works on anything, though for some reason if I want to use it on humans, I need their permission for alteration to work. I haven't tried it out and I'm not planning to, but I think they'll still crumble after three shots as well. It can even be used on things that physically don't exist, I used it to destroy spiritual chains that were binding a soul. My power doesn't work on myself. Oh, and for some reason, I can channel my power through my Innocence as often as I want without harming it or my arm. I'm not sure what happens then, but it's the only way I can give Akuma a new form, and I don't think I could alter Innocence without it. I think there's still more my power can do, but I haven't figured it out yet."

Road and Tyki blinked in surprise. That was a powerful ability. Apparently, the Earl hadn't been kidding when he said that Compassion was the most powerful of Noah's memories. It seemed almost ironic. The greatest powers that could easily end this war always ended up in the hands of those who would never use it to do so.

Then Tyki spoke. "I'll admit, that is impressive. So, if I understand this correctly, to make a Level 5, you shoot your power into its body and _corrupt_ the darkness that surrounds the soul while your Innocence somehow undoes the damage that the destroyed darkness caused, right?"

Allen shrugged. "Sounds about right, I'm not that sure how Level 5 are born myself, I just know that it works."

Road looked at him. "Do you think Noah can use the new Innocence?"

Allen thought about it. "I don't see why not, it works for Luciano and for me. But you'd have to be chosen by it, so you'd have to find one that chooses you. But theoretically yes, it should work."

Road seemed to imagine the amounts of carnage she could cause if she had an Innocence. Allen shuddered and turned to Tyki. "So, anything interesting that I should know?"

Tyki grinned. "Not much, we have a few free days before anything new is planned. The Earl figured out what's wrong with those boots your friend has. They were a... _shocking_ experience. Anyways, the Earl remembered where he'd seen those sparks before, it was when he and the Noah obliterated one of the last groups of Innocence-wielders before your Order was founded."

Allen listened up. He didn't know anything about Innocence-users prior to the Order. "What happened? Were you part of that?"

Road laughed. "Oh no Allen, that was thousands of years ago, long before any of us were born. And our opponent was not an organization, but a small continent. They had around a hundred wielders, and all who weren't chosen were at least as skilled as your CROWs, and in the end they were reduced to ashes. The Earl sunk the entire place afterwards, out of frustration that the Innocences were gone when he came to smash them for good. The place was called Atlanta, or something like that."

Tyki nodded. " It was called Atlantis, Road. Makes you wonder though. Atlantis had more Innocence-users, most of which were at the level of todays Generals, the population was way stronger and they were simply more and we eliminated them in a few months. The Black Order is a joke compared to what Atlantis had and it stands after many years. What does the Order have that Atlantis didn't?"

"_**They have the Cube. But don't say much about it, that knowledge alone is enough to condemn you to death."**_ The Musician's reply surprised Allen, but he decided to obey.

'Why?' He mentally asked.

The Musician sighed. _**"Simple, have you ever thought of this? Noah see humans as filth, but other Noah are family. But a Noah's genes are awakened by the memories of Noah himself. So, how do you know that the human you kill wouldn't have awakened as a Noah if he lived?"**_

Allen blinked. That was a good question, and he was just about to ask it when two things happened. Firstly, he started to get a small headache, not painful, but annoying. He activated his power, even though he himself wasn't sure why and the headache vanished. And secondly, the musician interrupted his train of thought.

"_**Don't."**_ His warning echoed in Allen's head _**"You would cause them enormous pain. You see, Compassion was not a memory that was supposed to be released and therefore, you only get a light headache. But if Tyki or, even worse, Road were to think about it, they would feel like their heads are being crushed while their short-term-memories would be erased. Call it a failsafe the Earl has over the Noah."**_

Allen decided to spare his 'family' that fate and remained quiet. Then he noticed something. 'Why would it be worse if Road got the blow than Tyki?'

For the first time, the Musician seemed embarrassed and stuttered, but Road spared him the fate of answering. She was hitting Allen on the head with a book. "Allen, are you listening to me?"

Allen looked at her. "Sorry Road, I was lost in thoughts for a moment, what were you saying?"

Road rolled her eyes. "I said forget about that and help me with my homework." Allen nodded and started to help her with the tasks teachers give their students to make sure that they don't have too much free time. Tyki was smart enough to leave the room before Road had a chance to rope him into her schoolwork as well.

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Jesaia looked at his best friend. "Okay, I can tell that something is bothering you, I just don't know what, yet."

Lavi grinned. "You know me too well. I have been thinking about what Levrier said about Allen's power."

Jesaia raised a brow. "And?"

"And it's bullshit. Levrier's brain is mush. If Allen's power was simply mirroring things, he wouldn't be able to make Level 5's. And a Noah isn't the polar opposite of a human, that makes no sense. So why should a human's dark side call itself Deminoah? That sounds more like the power of infection, but I know that's not it either. It's driving me nuts!"

Jesaia laughed. "You never change, do you? You can't stand being left in the dark, you have to know everything. I've been with you for 29 of your identities, yet that part never changes. Must be the Bookman inside of you. What do you say we cause some more chaos? Levrier is getting closer to a stroke each day, I can just feel it."

Lavi smiled, but he shook his head. "Not now, I have some things to memorize and then I want to question Hevlaska about that Level 5, Michael."

Jesaia sighed. "Some things never change, eh cyclops?"

"Shut up, scarecrow." It was a joke running between the two of them. "But did you see what Val did to Levrier after the meeting?"

Jesaia laughed. "How could I not, it happened right in front of everyone."

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_Flashback_

Levrier had finished the meeting when he saw Valkyrie. "Nocturn, I think you should make a short visit at Central, your _psychologist_ wants to make sure that you have no trauma's from your encounters." Translation: We need to make sure that you're still our mindlessly obedient tool and that none of your old personality has resurfaced.

What happened next was the last thing Levrier expected.

Val gave him the finger. "Go fuck a goat, you son of a bitch. If you think that I'm going back to that shitty hellhole of a torture chamber, then your head is even further up your ass than I thought."

What followed was dead silence, interrupted only by Lavi and Jesaia, who were applauding. Nobody had expected Val to say anything, let alone that. While the exorcists and most workers started to snicker, those who were on Levrier's side were worried.

Levrier was in shock. It wasn't possible that a broken mind just fixed itself perfectly in less than twelve hours. Something was going very wrong here, and Levrier needed to fix this before she blabbered out what exactly they had done to her. How did this happen? Then he realized, or so he thought. When would that boy stop screwing up his plans? "Allen Walker." He growled, but only Val heard him.

She smirked, but you could see in her eyes that what she saw disgusted her. "Getting warmer, shitface. Try to gather your last few braincells, who knows, they might have an idea before they expire. Either that, or they give you enough brainpower to learn how to think and speak at the same time. Hell, you might even learn how to read, isn't that great?"

Levrier noticed she had written something on her middle-finger. He took a closer look and read the words: FUCK OFF. He was about to say something, but Val raised her other middle-finger, and he read the second part of the message: AND DIE!

Things were going out of control, and Levrier wasn't willing to just let it happen. He grabbed Val's arm. "We have to get you back to Central immediately, your mind has been tempered with by the Noah."

"In your dreams. Are you hard of hearing as well as stupid? I'll say it nice and slow, so your puny little mind can understand it as well. I'm. Never. Going. Back. To. That. Hellhole. Ever. I have no intention of going through your electroshock-therapy again, thank you very much. And now let go of me."

Levrier pulled her closer so the other bystanders couldn't hear what he was saying. "I have no idea what happened to you, and I don't care. But you shouldn't get used to it, because before this day is over, you'll be in Central were we'll make sure that you return to what you were."

Val gave him a sweet smile, the kind were you get goosebumps and the strong urge to run away. "Oh really?" She asked. Levrier seemed confused for a moment, then he stiffened. He let go of Val while all males in the room gave a short moan of shared pain. Val had rammed her knee right into the area between Levrier's legs. "Don't touch me, you piece of shit." She whispered while Levrier collapsed.

Link seemed ready to make a step towards her, but he hesitated. Val smiled at him. "No need to come over here, he had it coming. He'll be fine, sadly." With that, she turned around and left.

_End of Flashback_

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Jesaia laughed. "Funniest thing I ever saw, Levrier looked like a goldfish. Since we're on topic, I'm gonna go look for Val, she seems much more fun now."

"Good luck, I'll be stuck for hours before I can even get to Hevlaska, stupid panda-jiji." Lavi waved his friend.

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Allen had finally managed to _help_ Road to get rid of her homework, aka doing it for her. Road had vanished when Michael had warned them that Cyril was closing in fast. Before she left, Road had told him what memory of Noah Cyril held. It explained a lot. Road had just vanished when Cyril entered Allen's room.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" Allen asked. Cyril ignored him and started to walk around the room, looking like a wolf trying to catch the scent of prey.

Allen started to sweat when Cyril froze and glared at him. "Road was here." He said, his eyes glowing dangerously.

Allen nodded, everything else would have just made Cyril suspicious. "Yes, she came here with Tyki to show me that he was alright again. The three of us had a short discussion and Road roped us into helping her with homework, then they left." Well, it was almost the truth, but something told Allen that telling Cyril that he and his step-daughter had been alone in the room. From what Road had said, Cyril had always been overprotective, and awakening as a Noah had only boosted that. Of all the memories Cyril could have gotten, why did he have to be Noah's Jealousy?

Cyril stared at him, then he nodded and left. Allen was about to relax, but then he saw the cat laying in his bed, right on the pillow. When did she get here? He sighed. "Hello Lulubelle, is something the matter?"

The cat walked towards him, then it changed shape, becoming the Noah of Lust. She looked at him. "I'm here to tell you that the Earl is away for a few days, and while he told us we could do whatever we liked while he was gone, as long as we don't get ourselves killed."

Allen scratched his head, that was not what he expected. "Well, thanks." He said. Then he noticed Lulubelle was looking at the Archangels, who were quietly leaning against the wall. "Is something wrong?" He asked.

Lulubelle looked at him. "I saw how you made those two."

Allen was getting a very bad feeling. "Ah, okay."

Lulubelle smiled at him and Allen got goosebumps. "I also saw what happened after you made them."

Allen paled until his face had the same color as his hair. For some reason, he preferred his human form. But this was the end of the world. Lulubelle would tell Cyril, and Cyril would slowly and brutally murder him.

Then he noticed Lulubelle was standing very close to him, her lips were right beside his left ear. "But, I think I'll just forget it for now." She whispered and left him to dwell in his fears.

Allen sighed. "I lucked out. I think. Sophia must really be doing a great job, she wanted to kill me not even a week ago. I must get Sophia a really good present for her birthday." But another thought crossed his mind. Lulubelle had said the Earl was gone, and Allen didn't doubt that. With what she knew, Lulubelle had no need to maneuver him into situations that make the Earl kill him, all she had to do was tell Cyril what she saw. How would he spend his free day? Maybe he could he visit a few friends, but how to assure his safety? He looked at Gabriel and smiled. Now he needed a plan. While the odds between the Earl and the Order would never be even close to even, maybe there was a way to keep them in the game a while longer.

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Jesaia blinked in surprise. He had found Val in one of the rarer used passages, just like he had expected. What he didn't expect were the twenty CROWs that were laying around her. Optically, they were unharmed, but they didn't seem to notice. A few were holding their limbs in pain, others seemed to think they were hurt on their torso. Jesaia wondered if Val had trapped them in some kind of nightmare. He was fairly certain that the CROWs were here under Levrier's order to capture Val, who apparently didn't want to be captured.

Jesaia decided to voice his biggest question. "Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

Val looked at him, it was obvious she hadn't noticed him yet. "Oh, hello Jesaia." She said, completely ignoring his question. One of the CROWs decided to use the opportunity and tried to attack Val from behind. Val glanced at him and the man suddenly froze, before collapsing like a puppet with cut strings.

Jesaia looked at the man's expression, which was surprisingly similar to how Val had looked before Allen Walker fixed her. "What did you to him, scratch that, what did you do to them?" Jesaia asked.

Val sighed. "Don't worry, they'll be just fine in a few days, a week at most."

Jesaia nodded. "good to know, but how did you do that? I mean..." He wanted to say more, but Val interrupted him. She walked towards him, grabbed the back of his head and pulled him into a deep kiss.

When she released him ten seconds later, Jesaia was in the world's most pleasant shock. Who cared about a few CROWs laying around on the floor, this incredibly hot and ever since Allen Walker decided to fix her mind, her personality had turned from dark and gloomy to just the type Jesaia liked, a really great personality possessing girl had just **kissed** him. She still wore black, but ever since she started to look like a person and not a doll, Jesaia noticed how good she looked in it. He regained his ability to speak. "Forget I said anything."

Val smirked in triumph and made a gesture towards the exit that said _'after you'_.

Jesaia and Val left the corridor... and ran right into Levrier. The man was obviously surprised to see Val was still conscious and not at Central, but when he actually looked into the corridor, he snapped.

"Exorcist Nocturn, how dare you attack other members of the Black Order?!"

Val raised a brow. "What makes you think I did that?"

Levrier seemed to swell with rage. "Because Harlequin is the only other suspect, and he would have left scorch-marks. What kind of idiot do you think I am?"

Val and Jesaia looked at each other. "A very big one." They then answered in unison.

Levrier growled and grabbed Val by the throat, while using his other arm to keep Val from raising her flute to her lips. Jesaia pulled on his gloves to make sure they were on tight, before going into his usual stance for activation, just to remind Levrier just who had the power to actually do something in this situation. But it wasn't necessary.

Val whispered something only Jesaia could understand. "_Hear me, my familiar from the second circle, warn who threatens me, your master, and let him feel your strength._"

While neither Levrier nor Jesaia saw anything, the former of the two suddenly screamed in agony, let go of Val and held the arm he had used to hold her throat. Val looked at him.

"Don't worry, in a week or so, you'll feel like this never happened, just like your little birds back in the corridor. But take this as a lesson for the rest of your miserable life. You are a bureaucrat, when the shit hits the fan, you're cannon fodder at best, but more likely you'll be a hindrance, or dead weight, literally. I fight in these battles and I can actually win, I am an exorcist." 'For now.' She mentally added before continuing. "So little paper-pusher, the difference between the two of us is that you can easily be replaced, we just have to find a way to cross a maggot with a pig, maybe mix in a crocodile for the remorse. So you stick to your little world, you're not ready for the real one yet, and you probably never will be. And if you're messing with me, you're risking, and losing your soul." With that, she left.

Jesaia looked at her quickly vanishing form, then at Levrier. He shrugged. "What she said." With that, he left as well.

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Allen had decided to let the gate open three miles above the ground and twenty miles away from the Order. To his own surprise he had found out that his corruption power worked on gravity as well, allowing him to stay afloat. But gravity, along with space, time and reality, was too vast and powerful to suffer from the negative effects of his power. He would never be able to completely corrupt them, therefor he could use it on these forces as often as he wanted without them crumbling. His corruption of gravity allowed him the ability to float, he would never be able to fly. He could change the direction of the pull, but that wasn't really flying, it was just falling in a different direction, so he asked Gabriel to carry him, seeing that she could fly, and fly fast.

Gabriel smiled at him. "Of course, after all, I said I would serve and help you were I can."

Allen smiled as well. "Well then, I'd like to see a few old friends, do you think you could bring me there?" He pointed at the forest next to the actual Order. Gabriel nodded and brought them there in less than a minute. While a normal human would be severely injured by the speed, Noah's were sturdier. He sat down in a tree branch, leaning against the trunk while Gabriel vanished in the forest, invisible but ready to come to Allen's aid in a fraction of a second. Now all Allen had to do was wait.

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The news that Allen Walker was practically in their backyard traveled fast, and Lenalee, Crowry carrying Timothy because the boy just wasn't fast enough, Jesaia, wanting to see the boy outside of the battlefield, Miranda and the entire science division were running to the forest, only to find that someone them beat to him. Kanda was leaning against a tree, looking at Allen, who had left his resting place. Before him stood Valkyrie Nocturn.

"Hello Allen Walker, how are you?" She asked.

Allen smiled. "Please, call me Allen. And I'm doing quite well, thank you. I hope you are doing better as well?"

Everyone knew what that was referring to, now it was beyond a doubt. Allen Walker had healed Val from whatever Levrier and his crew had done to her. Val smiled. "Yes, things are a lot better, you have my thanks. But there is something I would like to know..."

Allen got a weird feeling and activated his eye, just in time to see a giant mouth filled with what looked more like white spears than teeth, but that was what they were, shoot right at him. Allen turned into his Noah-form, knowing he'd be overpowered as a human, and grabbed that weird creature by the teeth, his left arm holding the upper jaw in place, while his right one made sure that the lower jaws wouldn't snap upwards. But what disturbed Allen was not that this creature was invisible to everything but his left eye, it was the fact that the malice this creature was releasing seemed familiar. Where did he feel this before? His eyes widened. "Impossible." He muttered.

Lenalee and the others were more than confused. Allen had suddenly turned to his Noah-form and raised his arms, as if to intercept some kind of attack. At first they thought it was some kind of battle-stance, but then some invisible force pushed him back more than five feet. Then a wave of white light came out of the cross on his left hand and washed over what pushed him back, making it clearly visible for a few seconds.

It was snow-white and shaped like a elongated drop, only sideways. The front part, were the giant mouth was, was the widest and, if the mouth were closed, it would form a perfect half-orb. Right above the mouth they saw what seemed to be the creature's eyes. Since they were looking at its profile, they only saw one eye, but Allen could see the other one. There was no iris and no pupil, they only saw a rough eye-shape glowing in an infernal red. The rest of it was long, like a snake, with no limbs. It was at least fifteen feet long and the head, its widest part, was as big as Timothy was tall if the jaws were closed. After three seconds, the beast vanished again, but they knew it was still there.

Allen growled, he had identified that aura. "I thought I made sure that you would never have the chance to kill again, Friedrich Himmelhund." His voice was quiet, but everyone heard him.

Val shrugged. "You recognized him, I'm impressed. Well, that is a _Hungry Ghost_, it feeds on souls, or more precisely, it feeds on the malice, madness, basically the dark parts of the soul. They are usually only found in their realm, the second path of reincarnation, but I kept him as a familiar. He's not at full strength yet, he still has to devour 60% of his own evil and insanity, plus the stuff I have already fed him. Don't look at me like that, he only took chumps out of the souls, and only one head. While that leaves them in pain and the headless one a veggie, unlike bodies, souls heal such wounds in a week, maximum. But yes, that soul was once known as Friedrich Himmelhund, before he died and I made him one of my familiars. Not much of mind left, but he never had that much anyway, and he doesn't mind, he chose to become this by himself."

Allen looked at her. "So your flute can summon the souls of the departed?"

Val scratched her cheek. "Not exactly, I can only call upon those who are not at peace and roam this world. The souls who exist neither in heaven, in hell nor fade away in the Nirvana. Those who have things they want to see through, who are too bound to their earthly possessions or, as in this case, those who still want to do something. Pretty stupid if you ask me, since most of them can't even be seen or heard by humans, and none of them can have an influence on what happens in this world. They are mere observers, at most they can share information."

Allen, who was still holding of the monster that once was a mere lunatic, looked at her. "And how did you get him?"

Val smiled again. "You see, it was like this..."

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_Flashback_

Allen had just left her, free of the terrors that bound her ever since General Yeegar had found her. While the General had been a nice guy on their short journey together, he had handed her over to Central, one of the few things the man had never forgiven himself for the rest of his life. After she had been broken, or rather chained, as Allen had described it, she was returned to learn under the General. Yeegar had been beyond horrified when he saw the doll she had become, still remembering the lively little girl he brought to them, and had never again let anyone fall into Central's grasp until he died.

But what should she do with her freedom? She looked at the forest where Friedrich's corpse was, then she made a decision. "I'm sorry, Master Yeegar, but I'll have to break our promise. But now we are even, and I forgive you for what happened because you brought me there."

Invisible to her, an old man sadly nodded. His guilt had kept Kevin Yeegar from finding peace, the knowledge what he had done to a little girl full of hope. But those words finally set him at peace. He knew the girl would do what she thought was right, and even if she defected from the Order, she had his blessings. Knowing that she had forgiven him, he faded away, to rejoin his deceased loved ones. He had known that that promise would one day be broken.

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_2nd Flashback_

Seven-year-old Val was crying. Her hometown had been the battlefield between monsters and weird people, and everyone she knew was gone. Except for her little brother, Freyr. He was five, and he always said things like how he'd protect her. Val thought it was cute and she always cuddled him whenever he said it, much to the boy's annoyance. But now he was gone. Val looked everywhere, and in the end, she found him.

She wished she didn't. Her family was attacked by the monsters and they all turned to dust, but this was much worse. Her brother was impaled on a stake that seemed to be made of earth, but he was still alive, if only barely. The spike had impaled his stomach and the stomach-acid had already messed him up beyond help. He whispered something about watching out for a bald man, then he closed his eyes, never to open them again. Val screamed for help, and suddenly a man appeared. He was wearing a jacket similar to the ones the weird men were wearing, and he pulled her brother from the spike. Then he looked at her.

"Your brother is gone, there is nothing we can do to help him. You have to be strong now, and don't forget this: The dead never come back. As much as we want them, you cannot resurrect someone without turning him into a monster."

Val wasn't really listening. She was still holding the flute her parents gave her as a birthday present, then it started glowing. Her brother was standing in front of her, see-through, but smiling.

"I'll always protect you. If you need me, I'll be your guardian angel." He said, then he vanished.

The man looked at her. "Little girl, what's your name? I'm Kevin Yeegar."

"I'm Valkyrie Nocturn."

He smiled. "Valkyrie, huh. The Shield Maidens that fly over the battlefield, collecting the souls of the worthy that fell there, how fitting. Well Valkyrie, can you promise me something?"

Val looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "Yes, what?" She asked.

The man's face became very serious. "There are people who might want to hurt you because of what you can do. You have to promise me that you'll never call someone who is dead, okay? Can you do that for me?" She nodded. "Okay, in return, I'll take you with me, does that sound nice? I'll tell you what you need to know later, this is neither the time nor the place for that discussion." With that, he took her hand and softly pulled her away from her brother's corpse, from her family's ashes, from her former life.

_End of 2nd Flashback_

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Val looked at the man that had caused her much sorrow. She had known for a long time that he was the one who killed her brother, and now she knew why. As much as she hated the man, there might be a use for him, especially the one she had planned. If things went right, Friedrich would nothing more than her mindless pet. And Friedrich didn't deserve the worldly immunity of dead.

She raised the flute to her lips. "Level 3 activate._ Forbidden Melody, Postmortem of Hades_"

The shadows seemed to flow together, and a moment later, Friedrich was standing in front of her, with a few differences.

"You look like shit." She commented. It was true, Friedrich looked like he'd been shoved in a meat grinder. He was standing hunched, as if pulled down by invisible weights. Chains were sprouting out of his back like hair, Val guessed his victims had once been wrapped up in them, now they were just dragging on the ground, giving the impression the man was chained to the ground. The man's face was twisted by his own evil, but now it just looked pathetic.

Friedrich looked at her. "You seem better, judging from the mouth you have developed. It's always the quiet ones. Why have you called me?" His voice was like dry leaves in the wind.

"Simple," Val answered. "I want you. I want to turn you into a familiar of mine, one I can use on the battlefield."

Friedrich laughed. "I knew you were dangerous from the moment I laid eyes on you. I could always tell that you would one day be very dangerous. So to sum it up, I have the choice of becoming your probably mindless slave to do all the dirty work, or returning to my eternal rest, undisturbed by the likes of you and that pesky Harlequin, did I get that right?"

He was clearly mocking her, but Val remained calm. "Yes. What do you choose?"

Friedrich remained silent, then he grinned. "Friss mich Schwarze Witwe."

_End of Flashback_

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"And that's how it went." Val finished with a shrug.

Allen nodded. "Very interesting, could you now remove your little pet?"

Val shook her head. "I'm sure you can knock him out yourself, and I wouldn't want to ruin your fun."

Allen sighed. "I take no joy in fighting, but if you insist..."

With that, Allen pushed himself off the ground with his right foot. But against the expectations, he didn't jump to the left. Instead, he remained at the same spot, but was spinning at an unbelievably fast rate. It looked like Allen had become a drill, he was spinning so fast that you couldn't make out any details. What they couldn't see was that not only was the Ghost spinning with him, Allen pumped a bit of his power into it, giving it a solid body. Then he landed on his feet, slamming the phantom into the ground. Hard. It was out cold. Everyone looked at him.

"Allen, what was that?" Lenalee asked, speaking for the first time.

Allen smiled at her. "On one of my journey's with my stupid master, we came across a river filled with crocodiles. One of them had just killed a buffalo and was using something called the _Death Roll_ to rip out chunks of flesh. My stupid master said that for someone like me, whose entire body was basically a weapon, learning something like this might help. Then he grabbed me and threw me in the river. Nearly killed me. My master is a sadist, and he has a few major screws loose."

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Inside of the Order, Cross suddenly sneezed. "Someone must be talking about me." He muttered.

Klaud looked at him. "Probably someone you owe money." She said.

"Or someone that you nearly killed with your actions." Tiedoll added.

Klaud looked at him. "That doesn't exactly narrow it down much, does it?"

Tiedoll shook his head. "We've managed to reduce the number of suspects to about a third of the world's population."

"Or maybe it was a beautiful woman." Cross muttered.

Both Generals looked at him. Then they spoke in unison. "Possible, but not likely."

Cross actually nodded. "It was probably just my stupid apprentice."

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Everyone shuddered at this story. Cross was really not someone for careful teaching of children.

Val suddenly activated her Battle-song of Thor and charged at Allen, who dodged a few blows as his eyes widened. Then he grabbed her arms. "I'm sorry, but that's not what I came here for, next time."

With that, he threw her into some bushes fifty feet away. He looked at his friends and smiled. Lavi was missing, which made the mission he gave his Innocence much easier.

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Lavi had somehow managed not to get the message that Allen was there, so after he finished his workload, he went down to Hevlaska.

"Hevlaska, there's something I want to ask you. Did you feel anything special about the Level 5 that was here?"

Hevlaska looked at him. "Yes, he was a being I have never seen before, something that I never thought would come into existence."

That made Lavi curious. "Why? What's wrong with him?"

Hevlaska looked at him. "He is a being of opposing forces. He is Dark Matter, yet at the same time, he is Innocence. He is a being that is a perfect balance of light and darkness. That is also the reason he was able to stand before me. When we were attacked, sacrificing myself to the Level 4 was more of a bluff, the Cube sends out energy-waves that quickly crumbles beings of Dark Matter. Even Noah react to those waves, but in their case they seem to feel pain in their heads and start to cry. I believe that the waves from the Cube neutralize something else. But because that Level 5 was also partially made of Innocence, he was immune. But..."

Lavi wondered why she stopped, but then he turned around and saw... his face. Or rather, the reflection of his face in a silver mask. He was facing _Crown Clown_. The living cloak looked at him, then it rushed to Hevlaska. It's left arm sunk into her and seemed to search for something. Then it pulled out a piece of Innocence and turned to Lavi.

The fabric of the cloak started to change form, until it took the shape of a map of the world. Then it tapped the Innocence on the map and a green circle formed at the edges until it closed in a small part of Norway.

The map changed and Lavi realized what was going on. If Allen's Innocence held another piece of Innocence, it could detect its user, and now it was showing him were to find him or her. Lavi had a feeling that _Crown Clown_ had picked the strongest piece of Innocence Hevlaska held. He pulled off the eye-patch to make sure he remembered the map correctly. It had changed, or rather zoomed in three times already, and after the fifth zoom, a small dot appeared. Then the entire process started over. After the second run Lavi nodded at the cloak, showing that he had memorized it. The cloak returned the Innocence and used the distraction of Hevlaska taking it back in to vanish.

It had fulfilled its mission: Get the strongest piece of Innocence stored in the Order and show them were its user is. Only Hevlaska and whoever you show it to may see you, and if possible, make sure it's Lavi.

Meanwhile, Lavi sprinted to inform Bookman and the Generals he deemed trustworthy. It would probably be best if Klaud Nine took this mission, she could socialize best with others.

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Allen had returned to the branch and had a long chat with his friends, when Levrier appeared, a group of CROWs in tow. Gabriel decided this was the moment to step in. She activated her ability, its permanent center Allen, meaning he would always be in the center of the field, seeing as this one was mobile. Its setting was _banish_, so there shouldn't be any casualties.

Levrier stared at the woman. Her hair was blond and she had a body to die for. Then he ran into the barrier. He nearly broke his nose as he stumbled back. Then he noticed something. While the woman's iris was as blue as the ocean, the actual eyeball was pitch-black. The woman was a Level 5.

"Who are you?!" He shouted at the woman, who looked at him.

"I am Archangel Gabriel." She answered.

Levrier was near insane in his rage. "How dare an abomination like you claim that name?! You are an Akuma, not an angel!"

"That is correct," Gabriel answered while a unnaturally thin raven landed on Allen's outstretched left hand. That bird probably hadn't seen any food for weeks. Gabriel looked at it but it was just a normal raven and Allen didn't seem to mind, so she continued. "but all Level 5 were put together to a group that was given that name."

Levrier gasped. "How many of you are there?" He asked.

Allen felt his Innocence return to the inside of his body and smirked. It was about time to leave, lest the Earl find out something. He looked at Levrier. "Currently three, it's not easy to get the materials required to make them. I might make more later. When I visit again, I might let you meet Uriel."

Levrier snorted. "You're not leaving here, you're staying with us."

Allen raised a brow. "Oh really?"

Levrier grinned. "Yes, we'll break this barrier, knock you out and drag you through that door!"

Allen couldn't resist making a rhyme out of that sentence. "Quote the raven: Nevermore."

With that, he channeled his power into the raven, who was suddenly bigger than most horses. Allen flung himself on the birds shoulders and turned to the others. "We'll see each other soon. Oh, and tell Lavi I'm sorry I couldn't see him." After that, the raven took off and was flying at a speed even Gabriel couldn't easily match. This raven, an ordinary, half-starved bird before it met Allen, was almost as fast as a Level 5 at full speed! Gabriel was impressed, both with the bird and her master.

Allen meanwhile seemed lost in thoughts. He had a feeling things would soon become very hectic. He had been right in his suspicion about the girl, Valkyrie Nocturn. He remembered the words she had whispered to him when she charged at him:

"_Please, take me with you."_

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Chapter 17 is done. Longest one I've ever written, twice as long as my usual length, and there is a reason for that. But for now, my usual questions:

1. Well, I finally revealed Allen's power, how do you like it?

2. I've recycled Friedrich, I like to use things as long as they last. Friedrich is now practically a mindless monster that wants to devour everything, like a floating shark in a feeding frenzy. And the more evil he devours, the stronger he becomes. Who thought he was gone for good, and how do you like me reusing him?

3. I've turned a animal into... lets call it Allen's familiar. What to you think he can do and how do you like the idea?

4. For Allen's poetic streak, I've used something out of a fairly well-known poem. Anyone knows which poem by whom? It's kinda obvious, but still.

5. The usual, How did you like it, what can I do better, etc...?

6. Tell me what you want to tell me.

German lesson: What Friedrich said roughly translates to: Devour me Black Widow (take either meaning you like). Since both he and Val are Germans, I thought that he would give his answer in their native tongue.

As for why this chapter is so long, there is a simple reason: It's an apology. Firstly for how long you had to wait, but more importantly because there will most likely be no new chapter the next few weeks. I haven't lost interest in this fic, don't worry. The problem is, when I started writing, I had no idea how this would story end myself, I just wrote to write. Now I have figured how I want this to end, but I'm not sure how to get there. I plan on one or two more exorcists and a new trick for the Order, and more Noah and maybe another Archangel or a few Deminoah.

By the way, anyone else find this ironic? I invent Deminoah and a week later, the author reveals Half-Akuma. Funny how the world works, but coincidents happen. Not sure if I'll use the Half-Akuma, but if I do, they only get minor roles.

As for evening out the powers, I do have something planned, but let's be realistic here. Even in canon it's obvious that the Earl is much more powerful and could destroy the Order anytime he really wanted. At the beginning of the series, 3-4 Level 3's would have been enough to annihilate them. And the Level 4 were never shown before it was impossible for the Earl to keep them a secret any longer. The Earl was playing with the Order, they were never a real threat. To show you how serious he took the Order: Allen's Innocence activated right in front of him, Allen was helpless and what did he do? He let him get away. He has the power to vaporize a city, yet he ran away when he met him the second time. To the Earl, the entire war is a game. Anyone ever play that Castlevania game for PS2 where the hero uses a whip? The Earl is kinda like the vampire king in there. He plays with his opponents out of boredom, knowing he can't lose. (Yet in the end he dies, because he underestimated his opponent, letting him become too strong. Main mistake of every villain, he never takes out the hero while he's still weak.)

Anyways, ideas for characters, weapons, scenes, anything would really help. I don't expect entire chapters, maybe just some inspiration. I'm looking for stuff myself of course, but help is always appreciated and almost never bad. If things go as bad as I fear, the next chapter will probably be out in a month, give or take a week, depending on what school forces me to do.

I thank all my readers, special thanks to my reviewers and I bow before those who might send me an idea that would speed up the appearance of my next chapter.

I said what needed to be said so now it's your turn to speak:

Please Review


	18. New Soldiers for all Sides

Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I never have and never will own DGM or any other anime or manga for that matter.

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Within the relative privacy of his room, Allen stared at the ceiling. He had done his best, considering his situation, to support the Order. By now, someone should be on their way to wherever the wielder of the Order's strongest Innocence was. He on the other hand was worried that the Earl might learn of his visits.

Then he thought of the girl, Valkyrie. She wanted to join his side. Did she want to serve the Earl or specifically him? With her abilities, she would be a useful ally and even if Allen turned her into a Deminoah, no one would know unless she revealed it. She could remain in the Order, watching out for his friends. And she seemed to seriously hate Levrier, so she was okay in his book. Ever since he had ordered Allen's execution, said boy hated Levrier with a passion.

The longer he thought about it, the better the idea sounded, but one question remained: How to get her unnoticed? Then Nevermore, Allen had decided to give the bird that name after their escape, flapped down to greet him.

Nevermore seemed to have multiple abilities, including limited shape-shifting. He could be the size of a big horse, where he was pitch-black with a armor of sorts protecting the body, head, and the base of the wings. He had a second form, which looked like a normal raven with a white stigmata between the eyes. But Allen was certain that was not all Nevermore could do. After all, after Nevermore's 'rebirth', Allen had been almost as exhausted as he had been after creating Gabriel _and_ Uriel.

Allen looked at the ceiling. The Earl would be gone for a while, and nobody would expect a second visit. Maybe he could sneak into the forest and meet Valkyrie again. He wondered why she hated the Order so much. Then again, she knew Levrier, and that was really all you needed to know to hate a organization he was a member of. But Allen had a feeling it was more than that. He wondered why she resurrected Friedrich.

"_**She didn't."**_ The musician replied. _**"She eternally killed him. All that he was, his thoughts, his feelings, everything, is being devoured by the spirit her Innocence summoned. In a way, Friedrich's soul is a battery, but it will be used up until nothing but pure, raw energy is left. Friedrich Himmelhund will never resurrect. He will be dead, truly dead, for all eternity."**_

Allen suddenly felt much better. He now stopped wondering if and was now contemplating how he should meet and change her, if she wanted of course. He looked at Nevermore.

"Why not?" He muttered "You can get her." But then he decided to wait until tomorrow. Right now, he was just to winded to perform the transformation. But he couldn't help but wonder what the new exorcist could do.

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Cloud was about to call it a day when she noticed a red-haired boy waving at her and signaling her to come closer. Then she recognized him. It was Lavi, apprentice of the Order's Bookman, one of the two Kings of Chaos as they were secretly called, and, most importantly, Allen Walker's friend. This could be interesting. She walked over to him and smiled.

"How can I help you? If it's about Allen Walker showing up, then I'm sorry, but I wasn't..."

Lavi shook his head. "No, it's not about that. Well, technically it is, but... It's complicated. You see, Allen showing up at our front door was a distraction. In reality, he sent his Innocence down to Hevlaska. I was there when it pulled out a piece of Innocence and formed a map. I think Allen told his Innocence to pick the strongest piece the Order has, Hevlaska confirmed it was our best piece, and show us where to find the user."

Cloud was baffled. She hadn't known Allen Walker very well, she saw him once or twice, but she had liked him. And now he was a Noah, but that apparently didn't stop him from helping the Order in his own way. Cloud held no illusions that they would have been able to fight off a full-blown offensive from the Earl, but maybe the creation of Level 5 loyal to Allen had thrown him into enough chaos to decide to put his plans on hold until he could make Level 5's as well. Unknown to her, the Earl was working on just that. But to get back on topic, Cloud slowly nodded, seeing were this was going.

"And you want me to get him or her?" She asked.

Lavi nodded. "That's it in a nutshell."

Cloud sighed. "Let's go to Hevlaska. I want to see the Innocence I'll be taking to god knows where..."

"Norway." Lavi muttered.

"Thank you. To Norway to recruit god knows who." She finished.

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Far away in Norway, a young girl with blond hair and dull brown eyes sneezed. "Someone must be talking about me. They're probably making fun about me and my eyes again." She had been in an accident that left her blind three months ago and the other children never stopped mocking her. With a sigh, Dagmar (This is a girl's name in Norway, don't ask me what it means or why someone would name their daughter Dagmar (To any Dagmar reading this, nothing personal)) prepared for another day of humiliation.

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Allen stood up and decided to visit his siblings, namely the ones that liked him. He remembered that Road had forgotten to tell him what exactly was wrong, or rather different, with Lenalee's Innocence. And he found her in the situation that was second-worst for him, topped only by naked: doing homework.

She squealed in delight. "Allen, great timing. I was just about to look for you. Can you help me with this?"

Allen sighed. He knew there was no way out of this, so no point in futile resistance. "Sure. But before that, you forgot to tell me how exactly Lenalee's Innocence is different from your garden-variety Innocence."

She looked at him. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Well, it's simply purer."

Allen blinked in confusion. "Purer?" he asked.

Road nodded. "It's simple really. Innocence looses purity when exposed to human influence. There is no known way to reverse this, not that we researched much, but Atlantis did. The purer the Innocence, the more it hurts us, and you wouldn't want to see what those things do to Akuma. It's not pretty."

Allen raised a brow. "Coming from you, that is some statement."

She giggled. "Maybe, but now it's time for math."

Allen sighed again and faced the inevitable. He decided to make another visit.

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Cloud looked around. Getting a gate was easy if you were a General. There would most likely be some Akuma at worst, Allen Walker would probably keep the Noah out of the game for now. The boy probably used some sort of break time for the Earl to sneak off and try to give his old friends an edge in this fight. She had an area of about three square-miles to search, which was nothing compared to their usual journeys to find wielders.

Her strategy was fairly simple. A piece of Innocence senses it's user and is attracted to it like a piece of metal to a strong magnet. She would walk through the small town she was in, and once she was a mile away from her goal, the Innocence would react and show her the way.

'Well speak of the devil.' She thought when she felt the Innocence in her hand trying to head in a certain direction. She followed the pull that got stronger the closer the piece of Innocence got to its wielder.

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Valkyrie was laying on her bed, looking out the window. She was lost in thought, thinking about what to do with her freedom. She wanted to repay Allen for his kindness, and she had lost enough faith in humanity to give up being human. However, there were a few people that seemed nice. Lavi, Lenalee, Timothy, Jesaia, and maybe Crowrey and Miranda, even though they were a little creepy.

Her thoughts were interrupted when there was a knocking on her window. She turned her head and saw a crow or raven sitting there, looking at her. At first, she wanted to scare it away, but then she saw a white stigmata on it's forehead. She opened the window and the raven actually flew on her hand and pulled her out.

She nearly screamed, but then she noticed she wasn't falling. The raven seemed to be able to carry her despite it's size. Said bird brought her to the edge of the forest, where a familiar figure stood waiting.

After her feet touched the ground, she straitened herself. "Why hello, Allen. You know it's rude to make a lady wait, right?"

Allen shrugged. "Maybe, but if I'm right, you want something from me, not the other way around. So, what exactly do you want, and why?"

Val was smart enough to realize that lying would only backfire, so she told him about the abuse he suffered under Levrier. Allen's expression darkened until his face was a mask of barely contained rage. When Val asked to be transformed, Allen nodded.

"I can understand why you would wish to distance yourself from the species that caused you so much suffering, and I will grant your wish, but are you willing to follow my orders, even if I told you to remain with the Order and protect those who are precious to me or you." He asked.

Val was about to say that she cared for nobody, but then images of a few members of the Order popped up in her head. Lenalee, Lavi, Timothy, Crowrey and Miranda, as creepy as they were, she knew they were both very kind, and... Jesaia. She subconsciously touched her lips, wondering why she had kissed him. Yes, it had made sure the boy would have forgotten his own name if she wanted, but there would have been other ways. She shrugged.

"I have no problem remaining at the Order to protect those who deserve it." She stated.

Allen stretched out his hand. "Very well. Could you please give me your Innocence? You'll get it back in a minute." Val hesitated, but then she shrugged again. In for a penny, in for a pound, so she gave Allen her flute.

Allen channeled his power through his arm and the flute changed. It looked the same, but it would no longer harm Noah. He placed it in his right hand as he extended his left hand.

Val steeled herself, then she shook it. It felt as if she was being ripped apart cell by cell. To her credit, she didn't scream. After a few seconds, it was over. Her skin had darkened and she now had a stigmata on her forehead. Then she turned back into her former appearance and received her flute. Allen told her that Luciano had named the group of Deminoah 'The Fallen', and she seemed okay with it. There had been stupider names for organizations, this name was okay. Valkyrie Nocturn of the Fallen. It didn't sound bad.

Nevermore carried her back to her room and she dropped into her bed. It had been a really eventful day.

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Cloud walked in the direction she felt the pull getting stronger. She had the Innocence in her hand, seeing that it would probably tear or phase through her pocket by now. It happened that if Innocence wanted to get somewhere, it simply phased through solid matter, not unlike a certain Noah, to reach its goal. And Cloud didn't want to spend more time than necessary looking for the wielder because the Innocence decided to pass through a few buildings.

Then she saw a group of children throwing things at a little girl that seemed to be searching for something on the ground. Cloud understood that she was blind.

The Innocence's pull became too strong, so she let it go and watched it make a beeline to the children. 'If one of them is the wielder,' She thought 'then I'll personally ensure that his stay in the Order won't be too pleasant for beating on a poor, blind girl.'

To her relief, the Innocence sped right past them and hit the girl on the ground in the middle of the forehead. Her head snapped back and she fell over. The other kids looked at Cloud.

"Good throw lady." One of them said. They obviously thought Cloud had thrown a rock at the girl. Cloud felt anger rising inside of her.

"Everyone, go home. NOW!" she shouted, and within seconds the bullies had run for the hills. Cloud bowed down to the girl.

"Are you okay?" She asked. The girl still had her eyes closed, but tears were running down her face nonetheless.

"Do I look okay? I've lost my sight three months ago, I am an orphan, and everyone's picking on me!" She shouted. Cloud's heart clinched when she looked at the little girl hardly eleven. Then she noticed a green glow from the gap of the eyelids, and she realized that her Innocence was a Parasitic-type.

"Can you tell me your name?" Cloud asked.

The girl sniffed. "I'm Dagmar. Just Dagmar."

Cloud smiled. "It's very nice to meet you Dagmar, my name is Cloud Nine. I know this sounds weird, but could you open your eyes?"

Dagmar tilted her head, but she opened her eyes... and gasped. "I can see!" She shouted.

Cloud was mesmerized by these eyes. The eyeball had turned into the typical green of Innocence, a white ring being all that made the irises visible as they were of the same green color as the rest of her eyes. But her pupils had changed. Instead of the normal black circles, a pure, white cross was in the center of each eye.

Then Dagmar looked at her. " Your heart is filled with sorrow, but kindness is what truly dominates your being. You're very kind and caring. Even when burning in the Level 2's purple flame, your worries lay with your fellow artists and your animals. I like you."

Cloud was shocked. This girl knew what had happened to her before she became an exorcist, when a Akuma attacked her circus. She had bought her colleagues time to escape, then she tried to free the animals from their cages, but the Akuma had cornered her. The sadistic creature had thrown those never-extinguishing flames into her face first, letting her squirm on the ground for almost a minute before attempting to finish her off.

She had been covered in the flames when Lau Shimin, her little monkey, had broken out of its cage, grew to massive size and ripped the Akuma apart. Then it had managed what Cloud couldn't, it extinguished the fire, before licking her. She found out that Lau Shimin's saliva had healing abilities, as it erased most burns, reduced what had essentially been a burned, exposed skull to a scar and even restoring sight to her blinded and at the time half-melted eye. Shortly after, General Yeegar had appeared and taken her to the Order.

But how did this girl know all that?

Dagmar seemed fascinated by herself. "I can see, I can even see things I couldn't before. It's like I see something and know all about it. I can even see that the stuff that is now in me is called Innocence and that it makes me much faster and stronger than before."

"Can you see the future, or how long humans live?" Cloud asked.

Dagmar looked at her. "I don't think so. Not unless they have some disease that is killing him. But I can see the truth in everything, I can see that you're a General in an Order of sorts and that you have come with the Innocence that is now in my eyes and that you can't leave me here. I'll come with you."

Cloud was still baffled. Eyes that could see through all, probably physical objects as well, and reveal even their darkest secrets. She could only find a single description for what this girl had. "_God's eyes_." She muttered.

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The Earl returned as they were eating dinner. He looked at Allen. "Could you please explain that bird?" He asked.

Allen shrugged. "Random crow. Or raven. Tried my power on it." He was annoyed that someone dared interrupt him while he was eating.

The Earl nodded, wondering what Allen's power could be. He looked around for an answer, but all Noah shrugged. Cyril because he really didn't know, Jasdevi because Road hadn't told them yet, and the others for reasons their own. Even Lulubelle shrugged.

The Earl accepted it, for now. His gaze returned to Allen. "I have a mission for you."

Allen looked up. "Does it have anything to do with the awakening of Wrath?"

The Earl was surprised, as were the other Noah. "You know of it?" The Earl asked.

Allen nodded. "Michael informed me of the awakening." That wasn't completely true. He had felt it himself, the musician explaining that he felt it because Wrath was the polar opposite of Compassion. Had Skin not died, he would have felt Allen's awakening. But there was no need for the Earl to know everything. "But how did you learn of it, Earl? Do you have the ability to sense the awakenings of Noah?"

The Earl shook his head. "No, but I can feel certain Noah's awakening, namely Wrath's. I'm not sure why." That was a lie. The Earl knew exactly why, but he wouldn't tell the Noah that. "Anyways, your mission is to collect your new sibling."

Allen nodded. "I shall leave tomorrow."

"Acceptable." The Earl replied.

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When Cloud returned with Dagmar, Levrier was waiting for them. Lavi had told him that Hevlaska had a vision of sorts and Cloud went to check if it was true.

Levrier smiled at Dagmar. "So, you are our newest member. You may me call me Levrier. It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope we get along well."

Cloud and everyone who was watching was confused. Who was this guy and what had he done with Levrier? And if this doppelganger hadn't killed the real Levrier yet, could he please correct that mistake?

Then they realized Levrier was trying to gain the girl as a pawn. Cloud had to suppress a grin. This would be fun.

And Dagmar didn't disappoint. "You don't have to act, I can see through it. You are twisted, your heart is filled with, greed, rage and madness. You see others as mere tools, even your own family. You torture others into submission, so I must ask you to stay away from me."

Most of the people beside Levrier felt the urge to applaud, but were too shy. Not so Val, Lavi and Jesaia, who clapped and whistled (Lavi). "Best show I've seen in a while." Lavi spoke as Levrier retreated.

Jesaia nodded. "Second only to Val giving Levrier a piece of her mind. But for that omelet, she had to break an egg or two."

Lavi snickered, fully getting the hidden joke. "Is it just me, or are things finally starting to look up?"

Jesaia nodded. "Yep, now all we need to do is make sure Levrier is put in a nice, cozy straitjacket and gets his new, rubber-walled apartment."

Timothy spoke. "Well then gentlemen, lets get to work!"

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For what felt like the millionth time, Allen sighed. His Archangels had been able to narrow the search-radius down for him to about a square-mile, but that was still a lot of ground to cover.

Worst of all, the Earl had forbidden him to take the Archangels with him. He claimed it was because of their eyes, but Allen was certain it was because the Earl was going mad over his, to the for the Earl, unknown ability. This was revenge, simple as that.

Then he saw a woman leaving a house to his left. There were a few things weird about her. One, she was completely covered, not even a sliver of skin was visible. Second, there was dried blood on her, but it would have been impossible to see if you weren't specifically looking for it. And third, she gave him a weird feeling.

According to the sign, the house belonged to a young artist named Steven something, it was hard to pronounce. Allen decided to enter the house, since he had a feeling the woman would be right back.

The lock was no match for his power and it crumbled when Allen used a technique he had just developed. It wasn't very difficult, simply three bursts of his power in a succession so rapid that it seemed like a single wave. Since nothing but the great forces could take his power three times when they came one after the other without turning to dust, it pretty much annihilated anything, including door-locks.

When he entered, Allen immediately smelled blood. He dashed to find the cause, and in the atelier, he found it. He nearly hurled.

_WARNING: NEXT SCENE DESCRIBES GORE_

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Before him, there was a young man, but one could only tell that by the man's head, which was relatively unharmed. A second glance revealed that the man's eyes had been stabbed out, blood running down his face in a mockery of tears, and his ears were cut off. He could probably still hear, but he was probably in serious pain. His dried lips were parted, revealing broken teeth. Allen could see that some had been intentionally broken off in the middle, causing excruciating pain, while other teeth were either punched out or manually removed with pliers. Allen saw said object laying on the floor, a tooth still in between the tongs.

But altogether, the head was still the healthiest part of the man's body. From the neck, which was full of needles, down, the man had been skinned. All limbs were removed, but what was left of the flesh and the veins had somehow mended over the stumps. The limps were laying all around, the fingers and toes without nails and every single bone in the limps was broken. Somehow, Allen was certain that those things had happened before the limps were removed.

His manhood was also on the floor, completely crushed. Allen was certain the removal had also come only after the complete destruction. Nearby were hammers and other devices that had most likely been used in something Road might have called 'Nut-Cracking'.

The actual torso looked horrible. It was held up by meat-hooks on chains that weren't simply attached to the ceiling, but appeared to be _part_ of the ceiling somehow. Any fat or muscle had been forcefully removed, by what looked like a mixture of blades and bare hands, leaving only the organs and broken bones. The spine was still intact, most likely to prevent pain-numbing paralysis, but that was pretty much it. All ribs were busted, as was every other bone Allen could see, except the spine. Someone had pierced the organs which were not absolutely necessary with barbed wire, so pulling it out in either direction would have shredded the organs. There were small needles in the lungs and heart, not enough to be life-threatening on their own, but enough to make even the slightest movement unbearably painful.

There were burns all over his body, and a few cut-open cables suggested that the man had been electrocuted as well.

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END OF GORE-SCENE

What shocked him most was that the mutilated man was still alive. Barely, but he seemed to be conscious. "A-Alicia... is... that... you?" He asked, obviously trying his hardest to speak, while spitting blood.

Allen gulped, limitless pity for the man welling up in his chest. "No," He softly spoke. "I am Allen Walker. Are you Steven?"

A slight motion that could be a nod. Allen decided to take it as one. "Steven, who did this to you?"

"A-Alicia. K-Keeps me... alive. C-C-Can't... die."

"I see. There is nothing I can do to help you, but I can end your suffering. And this Alicia will pay!" He ended, rage in his voice.

Steven twitched. "D-Don't... kill..., m-my fault."

Allen smiled sadly. This man seemed to care for this Alicia, even though she tortured him. But Allen saw only one explanation for why he was even having this conversation: this Alicia was a Noah and was using her abilities to prolong the torture. "I'm not here to kill her. Is there anything you want? Any last requests?"

"T-Three." Came the immediate reply. "D-Diary. Desk... top... d-drawer. C-Covered painting..., L-Left corner. M-M-My angel. "Allen nodded and took the items, safely storing them in _Crown Clown_, before turning back to the broken creature before him.

"What is your last wish?" Allen asked.

Steven seemed to gather all his strength. "D-Don't let... my p-parents.. find out what... happened to me."

Allen nodded, before placing his left hand where the man's eyes had once been. "Sleep." Allen said "You deserve peace." A short burst of his power and the broken figure slumped together, asleep. Two more bursts of power, and the man dissolved to fine dust, then he was gone.

The sound of different things landing on the floor caught Allen's attention. He turned around to see the woman he had noticed before, only now she had removed her face-covers. She was about nineteen and would have looked pretty had her face not been twisted in ungodly rage. Her skin was gray and the Stigmata were clearly visible. Allen gulped. She looked pissed.

"How dare you? I wasn't done with him yet. He hasn't paid for his actions enough yet! HOW DARE YOU DO THAT?!" Forget pissed, she looked furious.

"Of all the parts it could have been, the damned Earl sends me, Compassion, to find Wrath. That's like sending a Sperm Whale to find a giant squid." Just as Compassion and Wrath, the two creature's of the ocean did not get along well, and even though the Whale had the better chances, the fight between them could always go both ways.

And the young woman had an advantage over him. The Earl would torture him to death if he ruffed her up too much, while she simply wanted to spill Allen's guts.

And suddenly everything around her changed. Steel spikes on long, thick cables for maneuverability shot out of the walls while swords and other blades shot out of the floor. Allen activated his Innocence and the potentially life-threatening bombardment bounced harmlessly off of his cape.

The woman was suddenly in front of him, putting her hands on his cape, obviously trying to transform it into something that would kill him. To her great shock, instead of transforming into the Iron Maiden she had wanted, the cape swatted her away. The boy grinned.

"Ah-ah-ah, look, but don't touch. My cape is a material called Innocence. Amongst other things, it is resistant to Noah powers." Then the boy's skin turned gray as the same markings that now adorned her forehead appeared on him.

But she didn't care. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!" She shouted, before sending a hail of sharp diamonds towards him.

Allen knew this could get painful, so he decided to spare himself the pain and send his Tripulse against the gleaming crystals. And since the woman couldn't yet infuse her Noah-energy into her constructs, the diamonds, hard as they may be, were ordinary matter and and crumbled to nothing.

The woman was beyond shocked, but she sent more blades from the ground to skewer him. But Allen had enough. He snipped, sending his power into gravity. Suddenly everything was many times heavier than before. The blades bended to the ground like grass in a storm and the girl was also becoming one with the floor.

"Can we talk now?" Allen asked.

The woman glared at him. "No. TAKE THIS!" Diamond spears came out of the ceiling and thanks to the increased gravity, they shot down like bullets. Allen, who was caught off-guard, had to admit she was creative, but then a few spears hit him, and even though they didn't pierce his _Crown Clown_, they hurt like hell.

Then Allen had an idea. It was tricky, but it could work. He snipped again and what looked like red glass appeared and formed a horizontal barrier at the height of Allen's neck. In reality, it was simply two fractions of his ability doing opposite duties clashing. What was below the barrier was being ground into the floor, while anything above was pushed upwards with equal force, Allen being the obvious exception. Effectively, the woman couldn't do or make anything to hit Allen.

"I guess this is checkmate." Allen said.

The woman was livid. "That's impossible. I can't loose! There's nothing in this world that can resist my will!"

Allen felt the urge to slap his forehead. This woman was obviously enamored with her own power. Then again, waking up from extreme pain and noticing that you could basically shape the world as you saw fit could easily lead to delusions of grandeur.

"That may be true," Allen said "but I am a Noah like you, and I have yet to meet anything able to resist me. Anyways, I'm here to explain some things to you. But first, what did the poor guy do to you to deserve that? Oh, and your name would be nice, I'm Allen Walker."

The woman ground her teeth, but she was curious. "Alicia. I am Alicia Duskhart. And that bastard CHEATED ON ME!" She shouted.

Allen's eardrums nearly shattered. Alicia had an impressive set of lungs.

"_**Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." **_The musician stated, and Allen silently agreed.

Allen coughed. "Anyways, I guess I should explain what we are. We are descendents of Noah, and we are in a war. Our side fights for mankind's extinction, that's what I heard anyway, and the leader of said campaign is the Millennium Earl. He and the other Noah will give you the basics, I'm fairly new to all this as well. Will you come quietly?"

Allen stared into her golden eyes. _**"That's strange."**_ The musician spoke.

'What is?' Allen asked.

"_**Look at her eyes."**_ The musician said _**"She still has irises and pupils. Normally, Wrath's eyes are simply white orbs, symbolizing that the memories of Wrath, the most potent of Noah's memories, have devoured the sanity of the person and is using it as a puppet. And that happens as soon as **__**the Noah has awoken. In the long history of Noah's memories, only two people weren't devoured by them, and those were very dangerous."**_

'So what does this mean?' Allen asked.

"_**It means that somehow, this girl's wrath has absorbed Noah's wrath and is using it, instead of the other way around. This girl can harness Noah's wrath, she will be a deadly foe once she fully controls her power. And she's an Influence-type, her power is most likely alteration."**_ The musician said.

Allen nodded to himself. Then Alicia looked at him. "You want my answer?" With that, she tried to spit into his face, but thanks to the heightened gravity, it didn't even reach Allen's shoes.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, but if I don't bring you with me... let's just say it won't be pleasant. So sleep."

Allen had found out that when he focused on his left arm, he could produce a white haze he could more or less inject into whatever he touched. It destroyed Level 1s and 2s, heavily damaged Level 3s, had no effect on himself, humans or animals. To his surprise, Tyki had volunteered to see what happened when it hit Noah. Turns out that to Noah, it was like a stun-gun.

He touched Alicia's stigmata, the haze swept over her and she was out cold. Allen checked if the things Steven wanted him to save were still intact, they were, released his hold on gravity, grabbed Alicia and made a dash for the hidden gate. At least the Earl couldn't complain. There wasn't a scratch on the new Noah.

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Chapter 18 is done. For the second time. People who write viruses to trash computers should be shot. At least in the hand.

Should this chapter not be as good as my others, my first version was better, when it just vanished shortly before I was done, I really didn't feel like rewriting it again.

Sorry it took so long. The good news is I'm back on the story and I've got at least an idea how the story will go on. I can guarantee that this will have over 100.000 words, but I'm not sure how many more yet but quite a few. Unless I loose interest. The bad news is that I have vacation starting next Friday, and I won't spend them at home, so for five weeks starting next one, I might very well get no writing whatsoever done. I hope I can find the time to write a few chapters for my stories, but I can't make any promises.

And to those who think the fight was too easy for Allen to win, Alicia had only instinctive knowledge of her abilities and no real combat experience.

Now onto the questions.

1. I've created two more OC's. Don't ask me why, I just felt like it. And the author of the canon-DGM is also introducing more and more new characters, at least when the chapters actually appear. So I guess I'm keeping his tradition. How do you like them?

2. I gave a few more abilities out to a few beings and created a background-story for Cloud's (Every time I write that name I get the feeling I'm writing a FF7-fic, and I've never even played the game.) scars. How do you like my ideas?

3. I wrote a gore-scene. Look under the questions to find out why. To those who have any experience with gore (I'm clueless) and read it, how was it?

4. Did you like this chapter? What can I do better? On a scale from 1 to 10...? etc

5. Tell me whatever you want.

As for why I wrote a gore-scene, I lost a bet. Simple as that.

To Lord Edrik: The Hyena might have been, funny, but how would I get one in the Order's territory. The Order is most likely in Europe, not Africa. And it would seem that some didn't know Poe's Raven.

To Xulin: I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult, but I'll take it in the positive way. Is there a section here were you can write original fiction? Or can you give me a website were OF is written?

To WarriorPrime: Where do Allen's loyalties lie? A very good question. I'll reveal it eventually, so please be patient.

To Cross the Damned Soul: Thanks for your reviews. And who the f*ck is Martin? Is he from some series I don't know or is he part of one of your works? And how does he fight?

To Lunan: Sucks, doesn't it? I know how you feel, but even I can't force stories to update any faster, not even my own. If I try, I get writer's block. But your wish was granted, here is the new chapter.

I've done my duty, now you do yours:

Please Review


	19. A almost normal day

Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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Allen sighed. He had returned to the Arc, the new Noah, Alicia, in tow, and now he was stuck in a living room with her, the other Noah, Luciano and the Earl. Latter had insisted they all be present when the newest member of their family opened their eyes, which was the last thing Allen wanted to do. But he knew he had no choice, so he did the next-best thing: He rapped himself in _Crown Clown_, intending to sit the storm that would inevitably be coming out. Of course, that didn't go unnoticed by the others.

"Allen, why are you hiding in your cape?" Tyki asked.

Allen sighed again. "Trust me, you'll see." He muttered, when a short moan alerted everyone to the awakening of their newest sibling. Allen braced himself. Then she saw Allen.

Some would call Alicia's instant change from near comatose to wide awake incredible. As soon as she saw him, her hand slammed down on a small table before her and a hail of steel needles shot at Allen, who remained still as they bounced of his cape. He extended his cape a bit to shield Road, who was, to Cyril's irritation, sitting next to him.

Alicia had obviously expected as much, as she dashed at Allen, drawing what looked like a serrated rapier from the couch she had been laying on and pointing it at his face, intending to skewer him.

A second later, it was obvious who stood on Allen's side, as Alicia found herself surrounded.

At her throat was the blade of a red scythe, while she could feel two barrels poking her on the sides of the back of her head. A short look around showed her she was surrounded by stake-like candles whose sharp ends were all pointing at her. Her blade was in Allen's claw, its tip not even an inch away from his forehead. But to Alicia's great disappointment, it wasn't budging

Lulubelle looked calm to the Earl, but what he didn't see, although Alicia could, was that her left hand had transformed into a razor-sharp blade.

Cyril had also tensed, but in his case it was worry about Road, not Allen, that motivated him.

The Earl, who didn't like what he was seeing, clapped his hands, getting everyone's attention. "Now now, let's not kill each other, you're all siblings, so be nice."

Nobody moved as Alicia discovered that she had no control over the weapons threatening her existence, or the floor. It frustrated her to no end that she was in an area where she was almost helpless, unless she used the air. But right now she was busy looking at the speaker. "Now the marshmallow tries to play peace-keeper, how cute. Listen fatso, I don't know who the hell you are, but stay out of this or I'll shove your umbrella where the sun never shines, I swear to g…mbl?"

Tyki, who had been staring at his arms, had jumped up and placed his hand on her mouth, making sure that her powers would go through him. He smiled at her. "We don't use the G-word here, the Earl reacts rather… poorly to it." He nodded towards the Earl. "In fact," Tyki continued "last time someone mentioned it in his presence, he annihilated a small town."

Lero was quite upset someone dared refer to the Earl in such a rude manner. "How dare you, lero?! The Millennium Earl is far more powerful than you, lero, and you should treat him with respect, lero! Without him, you wouldn't even exi...mbl?!"

The Earl had showed Lero's head into a cushion to shut him up, but the damage was done. All eyebrows raised, wondering what the umbrella was talking about. Then Alicia interrupted their thoughts.

"So, you're this Earl that ordered whitey there to kidnap me?" She asked, very annoyed.

The Earl tilted his head, obviously wondering what was up with this Wrath. Normally, their instincts, which were essentially what controlled them, would have seen him as the master, as the Alpha of their pack, so to say. Then he looked into her eyes and all became clear. She somehow had overcome Wrath and stayed in control of herself, an impressive feat, but also another shovel of sand in the gears of his plans. He cleared his throat.

"I didn't order Allen to kidnap you, I told him to bring you home, to the rest of your family."

She snorted. "My so-called family is holding me at gunpoint." She stated. The Earl frowned at the other Noah and slowly the weapons were removed from her, with one exception. The red scythe never left her throat. She turned to the boy that held it.

She gave him a sickeningly sweet smile that a three-year-old could have seen through. "Would you be a dear and take that off your sister's throat?"

Luciano grinned. "Sorry cutie, but you're barking up the wrong tree. I'm not part of the Noah Family, and the marshmallow as you call him," he smirked "is not my boss. I work for cape over there." He nodded towards Allen.

For a second, Alicia seemed startled, then she caught herself. "I see. Sucks to be you then." She leaned back to get a look at the scythe's blade, then she licked it, before looking back at Luciano. "Pretty big blade, are you compensating for something?"

Luciano blinked, then his smile returned. "You, me, and a room of your choice. Then you can see yourself if I need compensation."

Alicia smirked. The boy had balls, she'd give him that. But before she could give a reply, the Earl interrupted. "Could we please get back on topic?" he asked. Luciano glanced at Allen, who nodded, and deactivated his Innocence. "Thank you." The Earl said, when Alicia spoke again.

"So, if I get this right, we try to eliminate mankind. Not that I mind, but why? What's the story, and what did I slide into?"

The Earl and the Noah began to explain.

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Valkyrie was grinning. This girl had just publicly revealed Levrier as the scumbag he really was, and it seemed some of the ones she had promised to protect were working on giving him the final blow. She could hardly wait.

Then Cloud explained her Innocence, and even though Val was standing behind everyone else, she could hear everything. It sounded like an ability that's main purpose was espionage, although it might be good in assassinations as well. She was glad for the little girl that she would not fall into Levrier's greedy clutches. Who knew what could happen if he gained her ability to discover secrets.

Secrets...the girl could see secrets...her secrets! Val's eyes widened. The girl could see that she was no longer completely human! And just as that thought hit her, Dagmar's gaze landed on her and with her sharpened vision, she could see the small girl's eyes widen.

Dagmar was in shock. She saw the girl in the back, who had immediately caught her attention due to a haze of some kind surrounding her, and as soon as she focused on her, she knew why. The woman was not a normal human, but she was something completely different. She had trouble gaining information on her with her eyes, as if there was some kind of interference. But she could see one sequence clearly.

A boy with white hair, extending his left, pitch-black hand with a white cross on its back and this girl, Valkyrie, taking it and transforming.

There the sequence broke off, but she could see a single cross on her forehead. She was just about to speak up, when Valkyrie moved. She laid her outstretched index-finger on her lips, the universal gesture for silence. Then she started moving her lips, but Dagmar's eyes could lipread.

The girl's words gave her a shiver down her spine._ Be quiet, or I'll play you a requiem_. Dagmar could gain enough information through the haze that was also surrounding her flute to tell that it could now kill humans, and that she was willing to kill everyone in the hall to keep her secret safe. She saw no other choice than to remain silent and slightly nodding.

Val smiled and gave a last message before turning away. She knew that Dagmar would remain silent.

Dagmar on the other hand shivered slightly as she caught the message. _Good. Then we can be friends now. I'll keep an eye out for you. You'll see, you and me are going to be __**inseparable**__. _

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Alicia sighed. "So basically, we are the bad guys who want to kill all humans, we have monsters called Akuma at our command and we both outnumber and outgun the good guys. Why does this sound like the classical setup in a story where the good guys win at the end?"

The Earl smirked. "I can assure you that at the end of this story, mankind has no happily ever after."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Alicia muttered. She took a deep breath, still suppressing the anger that was somehow not completely under her control. Then she looked up again. "Okay now, I don't want to see," She paused and glanced at Luciano for a second "most of you for a while of in whitey's case, for the rest of his life, so where is my room and where can I vent off some steam?"

Cyril told her and she left, obviously intending to destroy a few dozen things. The Earl said they could now all leave and eventually, the room emptied itself. But when Luciano turned to leave, Allen grabbed his shoulder.

"We need to talk." he said. Luciano glanced around. They were alone. He sat down.

"So, what is it?" He asked.

Allen looked him in the eyes. "You have a crush on Alicia, right?"

Luciano blushed red enough to make a tomato jealous and started stuttering. "W-W-W-What are you t-talking about? I-I-I don't h-have a c-crush on her!"

Allen sighed. "Bullseye, I knew it."

Luciano looked embarrassed for a second, then he grinned. "Well yeah, maybe I do. So? That's the reason guys join organizations, to get hot girls."

Allen face-palmed. "Now why does that sound familiar?"

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Back at the Order, both Lavi and Jesaia sneezed at the same time. They looked at each other.

"What was that?" Jesaia asked.

"No clue." Lavi replied.

"People, can we please get back on track here? Those nettles aren't gonna put themselves in Levrier & Co.'s beds." came Timothy's annoyed voice.

"Sorry." The two elder boys said at the same time.

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Allen shook his head. "Anyways, I thought it'd be only fair to warn you, Alicia might be a little too hot to handle for you."

Luciano's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? And why are they here?" He asked, when Michael and Gabriel entered.

"Simple." Allen said. "Michael can transmit information, so I had him read Alicia's last boyfriends diary, he'll give us the data. And Gabriel can read memories and transmit them to others, so you may see the state I found said boyfriend in."

Two white orbs the size of marbles appeared in Michael's hands as he pointed them at Allen and Luciano, they hit and sank into their foreheads.

What they received were knowledge of a diary filled with love. Allen's eyes widened when his mind received a part where Steven had written he had canceled a date with Alicia when his older sister had popped up for a surprise visit. Shortly after that, the diary ended.

"It was a misunderstanding." He muttered as his eyes filled with tears, the compassion he represented raging through his body.

Luciano didn't understand what the problem was, except that it would be tough for even him to top such a loving man. Then Gabriel laid a hand on Allen's forehead and a blue orb appeared on the fingertip of her index-finger. She pointed it at Luciano and made a gesture similar to firing an imaginary gun as the blue orb shot towards Luciano.

When it hit him, his eyes widened. Then he threw up on the floor. He had seen Steve, he had heard his words and he had heard Alicia's reason for doing such inhuman things to him. Now he understood why Allen was crying. It was grotesque. He slumped together, face in hands.

"Well shit." he muttered. Then he took a deep breath, composing himself. "Allen?"

Allen straitened himself. "Yes?"

"Don't you think its a little weird?" Luciano said "When you met her, she was pissed beyond belief, but she always seemed in complete control, but when she was here, she seemed to be fighting with herself. Almost like there is something in the Arc that weakens her rational thought."

Allen blinked. Now that he mentioned it, when he met her, even after she was pinned to the ground, there was no sign of internal struggle. And while he was at it, wasn't it more likely that Noah's Wrath's mental attack would be more effective when its target was already angry, instead of calm like a few minutes ago.

Suddenly he heard the musician. _**"That kid is smarter than I thought. There is indeed something inside the Arc that strengthens the memories of Wrath, or to be more precise, it is around the entire world, but its source is in the Arc, therefore it is strongest here."**_

Allen's eyes widened. 'So, does this have any effects on us other Noah?'

The musician chuckled. Allen was sharp as a knife. _**"Does it effect you? Not really, since Compassion was never meant to be a Noah. What does it do to the others? It c... raises the blood-lust in them, though that lust usually channeled towards their enemies. Road is influenced the most, seeing as dreams are reliant on influences."**_

Well, that explained Road's shifts between a bloodthirsty eye-stabber who enjoyed breaking minds and killing more than anything else, and a cute little girl that could be described as sweet.

Allen sighed. He had a feeling that he was getting closer to the secret that had gotten the musician killed, and seeing that said musician remained silent, that feeling got a lot stronger. He looked at Luciano. "You're right. There is something, but it's best you don't know. The Earl would probably slaughter me if he found out I knew. So, what will you do now?"

Luciano seemed to think it through. "I could try to get the girl and maybe die, or I don't go after the girl and still die, albeit less painfully. Hmm, oh well. No risk, no fun, no glory."

Allen shook his head. "Now I see your Italian genes."

Luciano grinned. "Yep, I like to think of myself as a 100% Italian from the waist down."

Allen rolled his eyes. "Yes, but you should really leave the thinking to the Irish head _above _your waist."

Luciano grinned. "Now what fun would that be?"

Allen grinned as well "It's your funeral. I'll bring some flowers. On your tab, of course."

"Ouch!" Luciano said, grabbing his chest as if stabbed. "That hurt. All jokes aside, you mentioned another Deminoah, how is he?"

Allen looked at him. "Don't worry, _she_ is doing fine. She's still at the Order. You might know her she's the female Exorcist that fought Jasdevi and Lulubelle, though I'll admit she wasn't in the middle of the battle. Most of her abilities, while not useless in combat, are better suited as support."

Luciano frowned as he tried to remember. "Black hair and flute?" he asked.

"That's her." Allen confirmed.

Luciano shrugged. "Cute, but not really my type. So, she like a spy or something?"

Allen tilted his head. "Well, sorta. She's keeping an eye on things, but she's mainly there to watch over my friends."

Luciano understood. "I see. I wonder how she's doing."

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Val was biting the nail of her thumb. This girl, Dagmar, was not just sand in the gears, she was a bucket of wrenches. Her eyes were a danger to her, seeing she could spill the beans about Val at any given moment. The easiest way out of her predicament would be to kill her, but even though she could kill without problems, she disliked using lethal force before all other options were exhausted. After all, she wasn't Friedrich, fortunately.

Speaking of which, after her transformation, the decomposition of Friedrich's soul had sped up to the point that the last remnants of his being had been absorbed a few minutes ago, giving her power over what was likely one of the most powerful _Hungry Ghosts_ that ever walked the Earth, not that many leave their realm if not summoned.

But back to her problem: What to do with Dagmar? While ripping out her tongue and removing her hands were a solution, it also would be fairly obvious that was something was wrong with her. Levrier may be an idiot, but he was not brain-dead... yet. Val smiled at the thought, before regaining her seriousness. She decided that she'd talk to her before doing anything drastic.

Now she had to find Dagmar's room, but that wouldn't be a problem. Ever since Allen had transformed her flute, she could now access the power of the darker Deities, of the evil gods and the fiends. The_ Melody of Satan _had given her the ability to create a small fiend that was intangible and invisible, but able to keep an eye on things and give mental reports of what happened. In an emergency, it could even become a portal, giving her a way to immediately reach the spot it had been, at the cost of its existence.

But Val decided to go to Dagmar's room on foot.

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Dagmar was in her room, staring at the small haze in the corner of the ceiling. While she couldn't see what it was, she knew why it was here. Valkyrie Nocturn had sent it to make sure she kept her mouth shut. While Dagmar couldn't really read Val with her Innocence, one look in her eyes were enough to ensure her that the girl had no qualms with taking a room filled with people hostage, or killing them if her demands weren't met. It was most likely only a matter of time before the girl would decide to kill her.

A knock on her door interrupted Dagmar's thoughts. She looked through the door, and the figure in the haze she saw filled her with hopelessness. "So, tonight I die, huh? I had expected that it would take her maybe a few weeks before she would end my life." She stood up and went to open the door. After all, there was no point in delaying the inevitable. Her chances of escape were 0%, Val was faster, stronger, had more endurance, and her Innocence was better equipped for hunting her down and catching her than Dagmar's was for escape. She was fast, but sound was faster.

She opened the door and looked Val in the eye. "Come in." she then said, moving to the side to let her executioner enter her room.

Val grabbed a chair, sat down and motioned Dagmar to do the same. The girl obeyed and sat on her bed, awaiting her demise. But Val merely looked at her and cast_ Silence _around the room, blocking all potential eavesdroppers. Then she spoke.

She began to tell her own life story to Dagmar.

She told her about her childhood, about her parents and her brother, about his annoying pranks, his wish to be a hero, and his good sides, about her happy years. Then she told her about the night she had lost everything, about how she had seen her parents crumble to dust. A tear ran down her cheek as she told Dagmar how she had found her brother impaled. She told her about her short time with General Jeegar and how he had given her to Levrier. She told her about all the man had done to her, how he had broken her and about Friedrich, the man who had killed her brother and abused her. Then she told the girl about Allen Walker, how he had freed her and killer one of the two banes of her life, about how grateful she felt, and eventually how she had ceased to be human.

Dagmar felt tears in her eyes as Val finished, touched by the girl's harsh life. Dagmar was ready to die now, but Val apparently wasn't ready to kill her yet.

"Tell me about yourself." It was not a plea, it was an order.

Dagmar sighed shortly and started to talk about her life. About her childhood, about her hometown, about her friends and her parents, about their house, about all the little moments of happiness in a child's life. Then about the accident that had left her blind, about the loss of her parents and the hardships of being blind, how all her friends had abandoned and eventually started to bully her, and in the end, how Cloud had found her and how she had regained her sight thanks to the Innocence. Dagmar didn't know why she was telling Val all this, perhaps she just wanted someone to remember her after she had passed away.

Val was touched by the girl's life story, even though she didn't show it. She sighed. "What am I gonna do with you, little Dagmar, whatever am I gonna do with you?"

Dagmar was surprised. She had expected to be growing cold by now, so what was this (To those that don't get it, hopefully nobody, she thought she'd be long dead.)? She knew that Val's Innocence had over twenty ways to kill her, ranging from instantly to slowly and painlessly to agonizing, not to mention that she could simply take on her true form and snap her neck like a twig. Or rip her to shreds.

"What do you mean? I thought you were here to silence me. Or are you just not sure how I die yet?" She asked, confusion in her voice.

Val scratched her head. "Yes, I can't have you talking, but the more I get to know you, the less I want to hurt you. How about this: You keep that pretty little mouth of yours shut, and I won't hurt you. Let's add that I'll protect you to sweeten the deal. So, do you agree?"

For the first time since she regained her sight, Dagmar was baffled. She had expected certain things, this wasn't one of them. She nodded.

Val smiled and clapped her hands. "Good, that takes care of that. I'm guessing you know that something is here, its mine and he'll hang around so that I can come to your aid when you're in trouble. But now you should go to sleep, it's late and tomorrow, you'll meet Hevlaska, so rest." She gave Dagmar a kiss on the forehead, then she used_ Hypnos _to give the girl some well-deserved sleep.

Tomorrow would be interesting.

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Allen sat in his room, thinking. He had no idea what was going on. Roughly two days ago, the Arc had shaken, but the Earl had shown up and said it was nothing to worry about. The fact that he looked like he'd been using sandpaper as a towel didn't help in easing their concern, but the Earl said it had simply been a failed experiment. What he was up to now was anyones guess. Maybe Road knew.

As if he had jinxed it, Road popped up and landed on his lap, immediately wrapping her arms around his neck. "Missed me?" she asked.

Allen looked at her. "It's been like ten minutes since lunch."

Road tilted her head. "I know. Your point being?"

"We just saw each other." Allen stated.

Road nodded. "I know. What's your point?"

Allen gave up. "It's nice to see you." She squealed in joy. "Do you have any idea what the Earl is doing? Last I heard of him he nearly tore the Arc apart."

Road blinked. "I have no idea what he's working on, but I know that right now, he's in the library, looking for hell knows what. I think I heard him mumble about Innocence and purity, so it might have something to do with that girl, Lenalee."

Allen remained calm, but he was worried. Plans of the Earl usually meant a lot of trouble, both for the ones who'd realize it and their victims.

'Shit!' Was a good way to add up his thoughts, but his words were a bit more refined. "Why do I get the feeling that we are in for some major headaches, accompanied by serious pain?"

Road looked at him, serious for once. "I don't know, but you're not the only one with a bad feeling."

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Dagmar sighed. She was standing on a platform that lowered itself, accompanied by Komui, Val, who had insisted on tagging along, Lenalee, who tried her hardest to make her feel at home, and, much to the dismay of all four of them, Levrier.

The man had given up his attempt to be friendly, and now looked like he was ready to throw them all over the side of the platform. There were deep rings under his eyes, not surprising considering the amount of stress he was under, paired with Lavi, Jesaia and Timothy's latest prank of smuggling a sleep-suppressing drug in the drinks of the Order. Strangely, all of the standard-staff of Headquarters and the Exorcists had somehow evaded the drug and slept peacefully threw the night. Also, laying in their beds had not been a good idea, and they had strong itches ever since.

Then Dagmar, who could easily see through the darkness, gasped. She had spotted Hevlaska, causing Komui to pout as the ambush from behind had always been one of his favorite pranks. Lenalee smacked him upside the head.

Hevlaska spoke. "Welcome, young Exorcist, I am Hevlaska, the Keeper of Innocence."

Dagmar blinked. "You are far more. You are the Cube, and you have been for over 1800 years."

Hevlaska nodded. "I see that your eyes are as good as I've been told. Let me confirm your synchronization with your Innocence." She lifted the girl in the air, and nearly dropped her when she got the results. "Your ratio is 94%, which is most unusual considering the short time you have had it. But it is fairly pure, seeing that it has been stored within me a long time."

Dagmar tilted her head. "Why are you so worried about purity?"

Komui sighed. "Because if Innocence loses purity, it gets weaker. Current Innocences are much weaker than the Innocences found in the past and sadly, we have no way of restoring purity."

Dagmar stared at him like he was mad. "Yes you do, its right there!" She pointed at Hevlaska.

Levrier scoffed. "You misunderstand. Hevlaska can stop the loss of purity while the Innocence is within her, not reverse it it. Foolish brats like you should best keep their..."

Val glared at him. "Let her finish, shitface." She turned to Dagmar. "What were you saying?"

Dagmar smiled, though it was a bit tense. Then she took a deep breath. "Within the Cube, there is a device that can restore purity to Innocence, although it takes much time."

Komui turned to Hevlaska. "Is that true?" he asked.

Hevlaska sighed. "The Cube is far more complicated than any Innocence. I myself don't know all its secrets, so it is possible."

Levrier lost patience. "Well, what are you waiting for? Activate it already!"

Dagmar cleared her throat. "There is a catch. For it to work, it needs the energy of a piece of Innocence. Not much and only once, but the device requires energy it can reproduce. Therefore, the purification will only go on until the Innocence-pieces reach the purity of the one used to start the device. Of course, the device will replace the energy if a purer source is available, raising the purity of the other pieces to the new level,. Oh, and it doesn't necessarily require the Innocences that are to be purified to be inside the Cube, all that's needed is that it has come in contact with the Cube's host, namely Hevlaska, at least once."

Levrier thought about it. "How long would this process take?"

Dagmar shrugged. "Decades, maybe centuries, depending on how much there is to purify."

Levrier frowned. "Is there any way to speed it up?"

Dagmar looked at Hevlaska again. "There are two ways. One would be to leave the Innocence in the device, though it would still take decades, and the other one would be temporary purification."

Komui blinked. "What is temporary purification?"

Dagmar scratched the back of her head. "It's kinda complicated. The device, let's just call it the Purifier, can send most of the energy through the link the Cube has with the Innocence, giving them the same purity the Innocence that activated the Purifier, but that doesn't last. The longer you want to make it last, the longer it takes until you can use it again. Also, once it wears off, the purity of the boosted Innocence returns to what it was before the boost. Using that function also slows the permanent purification."

Levrier seemed to think. "Assuming we had an extremely pure piece of Innocence and never used temporary purification, how long would it take until the improvements would become noticeable? I'm not talking about major improvements, I'm just wondering when the first effects would become enough to make a slight difference."

Dagmar frowned as she looked at Hevlaska again. "I'd have to guess, but I'd say about three months, two if we left the Innocence inside the Purifier. But it'd have to be very pure, even purer than Lenalee's for such a quick result."

Levrier frowned. "So we need a purer Innocence? That won't be easy, but in the meantime, could Lenalee's suffice?"

Val rolled her eyes. "Are you completely retarded? Wait, don't answer that, we all know you are, never mind. She just said that it'd work with Lenalee's Innocence, it would just take longer and not purify as much as a purer one would."

Dagmar nodded, then she explained Lenalee how to channel her Innocence's energy into the Purifier while Levrier left to question Bookman about the chances of a purer Innocence existing.

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Allen was sitting at the dinner-table with his siblings, including Alice. She had come down from her high horse fairly easily and was actually having a lively conversation with Luciano. Tyki, who was sitting next to him, nudged him in the side.

"The kid's got brass balls to talk to her, huh?" he muttered. By now, everyone knew what had happened to Alice's last boyfriend.

Allen chewed and swallowed before shaking his head. "Brass isn't gonna cut it, those are steel, if not diamond balls."

Just as dessert came, the Earl entered. That was a surprise, seeing as the Noah hadn't seen much of him in the last days, during which he had skipped mealtime. The Earl looked at Allen.

"That girl's Innocence reminded me of something, and I just remembered what it was. There may be other Innocences that are far purer than the one that girl possesses on this planet. Normally this would make me quite nervous, but thanks to some more recent developments" he looked at Allen "we now may be able to use that power for our purposes."

Allen swallowed his last bite for the moment, number 12693 to be exact, and looked at the Earl. "What exactly are you talking about? I mean, how can there be such a pure Innocence? The ones I've seen so far have pretty much all been on the same level, Lenalee's excluded, some even weaker, but never a really strong one."

The Earl nodded. "That's because there are very few, and the Order doesn't think they're more than legends. But the battle between Akuma and Innocence-users has gone on for a very long time, though they aren't known as Akuma or Exorcists, they are called heroes and monsters. Take Medusa as an example, one of the best Level 2s I ever had, could petrify anything it saw. But Perseus's shield was an Innocence that neutralized and reversed Akuma abilities, not to mention he could fly with it. He destroyed poor Medusa. But, I got my revenge when I personally shot him out of the sky."

Luciano looked up. "So you're telling us that legendary weapons like the G_á_e_ Bulg_ existed and that they in fact were Innocence?"

The Earl nodded. "Ah yes, the G_á_e_ Bulg_, wielded by Cúchulainn himself. I'm not surprised an Irishman like you would mention it. Yes, the Hound was one of the toughest enemies I have ever seen."

Now Road spoke up. "Hercules! I read about him in school. Did he have one too?"

The Earl nodded. "He had two, although one wasn't really his, but he had it. It was the skin of a lion he slew, its special attribute made it impervious to damage. His real Innocence was his bow, which could fire arrows that causes wounds that never healed. Mainly used against my Akuma, although he killed a few people with it. The greeks also had a holy spring, which I always suspected was Innocence, in which they washed chosen newborns. These children would always be stronger, faster and tougher than anyone else."

Allen cleared his throat. "So, you want me to... alter these Innocences so that we may use them as a weapon, if I understand you correctly."

The Earl nodded. "That is correct."

Allen looked at him as he grabbed his fork. "Couldn't this have waited until _after_ dinner? I mean, we aren't even sure if such an Innocence exist, let alone where to find it, so there's really no hurry."

The Earl shook his head. "And that, my boy, is where you're wrong." Allen felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. The Earl was almost always playful in public, but if he went overly familiar with the Noah and used nicknames without their real names, the shit was about to hit the fan. Allen gulped, and the other Noah, with the exception of Alice, who didn't know him well enough, didn't look too jappy either.

"So, you know where to find such a piece and you want me to get it, right?" Allen asked, already knowing the answer.

The Earl smiled. "Yes, I do. But don't worry, you're not going in alone."

Allen's heart sank further. If the Earl sent backup, than it was really bad. "What, when and where?" He asked.

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Levrier was sitting in his office, having just explained the situation to Bookman. The old man seemed to think for a while, then he looked up.

"There may be a Innocence that suits your needs, but it will not be easy to obtain. It is guarded by the descendants of its original user, and they are both inhumanly powerful and very protective of it."

Levrier nodded. "Then we shall send a large team of exorcists to get it. Where is this Innocence?"

Bookman grabbed into his sleeve and pulled out a scroll. "All the information is in this scroll. Remember that I am lending it to you, I expect to receive it back in peak condition."

Levrier looked at it. "Very well, but why a scroll?"

Bookman smiled. "Simple. A scroll is one piece of paper, so you cannot tear pages out nor can you replace real with fake pages."

With that, he left Levrier to organize the perhaps most important operation in the Order's history.

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The Earl smiled. "You're taking a sword from your home-country, in fact, your target is _the_ most famous sword in British folklore."

Allen thought about these words, then his eyes widened to the size of his dinner-plate. "You're not serious."

Road looked at him. "What's wrong?"

Allen stared at the Earl. "You want me to steal Excalibur?!"

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Chapter 19 done. More than 6000 words of pure story, not bad. Next chapter might be longer, or I'll make it two chapters.

I would now like to request a moment of silence. It would seem that all the people who used to review this story have either died or left this site.

Seriously, I wasn't expecting 20 reviews or more, but THREE?! Well four, if you count the one made for chapter 3, but still. Readers expect longer chapters if one is written, but writers come to expect more feedback if more came, and the last chapter had 14 reviews. I'm not asking that everyone who reads writes a comment, although I wouldn't complain, but come on people, how am I supposed to know what I'm doing good and what needs more work without feedback?

I'd like to mention, I know how my story ends, so I don't need to write it. I'm not writing cause I like to write, I'm writing for the people that like my story and want to know how it ends. If there is no feedback, I'll have to assume that nobody's reading it, so there'd be no reason to write more chapters. I'm not trying to force reviews, but if this absence of feedback continues, I might take another break or simply abandon this fic.

But enough ranting.

1. I came up with a way to strengthen the Order, you'll see the effects next chapter. How do you like it?

2. I'm considering another Noah, though he'd play a minor role. Should I?

3. Yes, the Order and the Earl are once again after the same thing. Who do you think will get it?

4. Who will the Earl send? Who will the Order send? What do you think will happen?

5. The usual. How did you like it, what can I do better, on a scale from 1 to 10, etc...?

6. Tell me what you want to tell me.

This chapter took much longer since I have only limited access to a computer, and if I do, its only for a short time. I hope the quality hasn't suffered from this. As for what I've written above, it probably sounds more threatening than it's supposed to be, but please, more reviews.

Well, I'm finished for now, so:

Please Review


	20. Guarding the Sword are

Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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Allen pinched the bridge of his nose, trying, and failing, to suppress the headache that slowly emerged. The Earl had practically ordered him to steal a national treasure, of his own country! But he knew there was no choice. "Fine. Who will come along?"

The Earl thought about it. "Hm, this is important, so I shouldn't save firepower. Let's see, I think Tyki, Road, Lulubelle and Jasdevi. You can bring Luciano along as well. Alice still needs to get used to all this, so she'll stay here and Cyril still has political duties, so he won't join you either."

Allen winced. If the Earl sent that many Noah with him, he was obviously expecting major complications. "Where's the catch? For just getting something, this is overkill."

The Earl nodded. "Yes, the descendants of the Innocence's wielder are still guarding it, so I don't know if exposure to the Innocence has altered them somehow. Also, they don't permit intruders. They kill the men and nail their remains to the trees as a warning. I have no idea what happens to the women. So I'd rather be on the safe side. Akuma don't function properly in that area, so your Level 5s won't do you any good. Leave them. You will leave tomorrow."

Alicia raised her hand. "Since you all are working so hard to prove all I believed in wrong, just let me check. You say that the heroes of history were users of this Innocence, and that all monsters and demons were really just these Akuma, right?"

The Earl shook his head. "Not all monsters were Akuma, like the Innocence-boosted lion that accursed Hercules slew, or just normal animals. But demons exist, and I don't mean Akuma, I'm referring to real demons. They are few and they're all sealed up, but demons like Lucifer, Satan, Baphomet and Belial exist, and they are very powerful. In terms of sheer power, I would be hard-pressed to defeat one of them, and there are those even I cannot defeat. The demon king Satan and the Fallen Angel Lucifer would tear me to shreds." he openly admitted.

Allen gulped. The Earl had once leveled a city with little effort. How much power would something possess that would render him powerless? How the hell would you beat something like that? Road's thought were following similar paths. "But you said they're all sealed. How could anyone manage to seal something that holds so much power?"

"Simple," the Earl said "magic. The power of magic is different from all other forces, and can indeed be used to defeat something vastly superior to oneself. Why do you think I spent centuries to learn and master it? And the fact that some where nephilim helped."

"Nefe-what?" Jasdero asked, his other side nodding, seconding the question.

Allen spoke. "Nephilim, half-angels. The offspring of a union between angels and mortal women."

Tyki looked at him. "And you know that because?"

Allen rolled his eyes and pointed at himself. "Former member of a religious organization, remember?"

Tyki blinked. How could he have forgotten? He nodded. Then he turned to the Earl. "So if these demons are that powerful, can they be used for our purposes?"

The Earl shook his head. "Unfortunately no. All demons that I know of seek absolute destruction, and would see no difference between us and the rest, perhaps they'd even view us as a major threat and would attempt to eliminate us first. Fortunately, they are safely sealed away and the seals need specific items to be broken, so the chance of one of them breaking free is essentially zero."

Alicia was intrigued. "Do you know the location of one of these sealed demons?"

The Earl nodded. "I know where Lucifer is sealed. He's trapped in China. The Chinese have a recording of his battle against the true Archangel Michael."

Allen looked up, this was news to him. "Really? Why haven't I heard of that before?"

The Earl laughed. "You have, you just don't know it, as the meaning of that recording has been lost. Let me explain. Both Michael and Lucifer are angels, and surrounded by a powerful aura, visible to the naked eye. Michael's, as any loyal angels, was of a pure white, while Lucifer's is black, signifying his status as a fallen. Both circled each other and eventually concentrated a tremendous amount of energy into an orb and firing it at each other, both hitting the other one chest. Lucifer was then sealed by the nephilim that had viewed the battle, while Michael retreated to heaven to heal. But the moment at which both orbs struck, an instant before a giant explosion occurred, was drawn by a painter. It's meaning was lost, and now people assume that it symbolizes balance, known as yin-yang."

Allen looked up. "Angels exist? Should we expect them showing up anytime in the near future?"

The Earl shook his head once again. "Angels don't leave heaven. Michael was an exception, it won't happen again. But back to our original topic. You will leave tomorrow at daybreak. Get some sleep, you might need it." With that, the Earl vanished, leaving the Noah to their own thoughts.

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Levrier leaned back. This was the perhaps most important operation in the Order's history, something that could even the odds, and with correct usage of temporary purification, tilt them in their favor. The choice who to send would be the most critical one he ever made.

He would have taken Friedrich, but since that was no longer possible, Kanda was the next-best choice. Lenalee would be useful with her tendency to make friends quickly, and Lavi and Jesaia he just wanted as far away as possible, not that they weren't good fighters. Timothy and Miranda wouldn't do much good, so they would stay behind. Crowrey seemed to have caught the flue, so he was out of action for a few days. Bookman was too dubious to be sent along for such a mission, and since Lavi would be on it, he wouldn't complain. Dagmar was currently too valuable to be sent out, but her growing friendship with Valkyrie Nocturn was becoming bothersome.

Valkyrie, that name left a sour taste in Levrier's mouth. She had been the perfect tool for his purposes, and then Allen Walker had strolled in and destroyed years worth of training and conditioning in a few minutes, at a point where she was too strong to simply be retrained. All he could do now was use her as good as he could and hope she died in the line of duty, so she was on board for this operation. Which left open the most pressing question: Which General should be sent along?

He had orders that under no circumstances was it permitted for more than one General to remain outside of Headquarters at the same time, so he had exactly one free slot. But who fitted there best?

Cloud Nine was too soft for this operation, she might hesitate to do what was necessary. Froi Tiedoll was too unpredictable for Levrier's taste, he had no idea what to expect of the man. Winters Zokalo would be a good choice, but he needed a functional group that could go fast and under the radar. Under the radar was no problem for Cross Marian, but Levrier was worried he might give the group the slip and vanished again. Then he remembered that there were women in this group, and that Marian would rather shoot himself in the foot than let a woman get hurt. Also, Lenalee had already proven that she could stop him from escaping. Marian would be suited best for this mission.

But better safe than sorry, so Link would be along for the trip as well, equipped with a portable gate generator in case they needed to make a fast escape.

They would leave before daybreak.

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Allen yawned. He looked behind him and noticed that his traveling-companions were not doing much better. Everyone clearly thought they should be in bed right now, Luciano mumbling something about stupid paranoid Earls while Road, who was once again clinging to him mumbled some things Allen didn't even want to understand. He tried to smile, and to his own surprise, he succeeded. He looked at the others. "Shall we?" he asked.

The others mumbled their agreement, or at least that's what Allen decided to translate the grumbles into, and they headed towards the gate. The Earl was waiting for them.

He smiled at them, oblivious to their annoyance. "Hello-ho, how ya all doin this fine morning?" he asked in an overly playful voice.

"Don't ask." Allen muttered, and the others grumbled in agreement, even Lulubelle seemed annoyed.

The Earl cleared his throat. "Anyways, I came to tell you that when you step outside, you won't be right at the goal, but in the forest surrounding it. You'll have to take a five-mile-hike to reach the part of the forest in which the colony where Arthur's descendants live is."

Allen looked up. "Descendants? I thought Arthur's only child was Mordred, who mortally injured Arthur in their final battle, at the cost of his own life."

The Earl nodded. "And you're correct. But Mordred also had a child, although he and his descendants identified themselves with Arthur. Those descendants live there, and I don't think they'll be too happy about your visit, so be careful. Who knows what power the Innocence might have bestowed on them."

Allen yawned again and glared at the Earl. "Why thank you Earl, your limitless optimism is just what we need right now."

The Earl shrugged. "Off you go. Bring me a souvenir, a Excalibur would be nice." he said and gestured at the gate. They entered, Luciano swearing like a sailor the entire time.

The darkness of the Arc was instantly replaced with the green of a giant forest. Then they heard the Earl again. "Oh, I forgot to mention this, but it's too dangerous to keep the gate open the entire time, so until you get the sword and leave the area, you're on your own." Then the voice was gone.

"I'm starting to think he's trying to get rid of us." Allen stated.

Luciano looked at the vanishing gate. "Perfect. Just fucking perfect." He cursed.

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On the other side of the forest, someone was sharing Luciano's opinion. "Another forest? And again we have no real idea what way to go? Please, _please_ let me burn it down, okay?"

Lenalee shook her head. "No Jesaia, you can't burn it down."

Link felt the need to add his two cents. "We are supposed to maintain a low profile. Go in, get the Innocence and get out before someone notices us, that would be the perfect and the desired outcome. And I doubt that turning the forest into a bonfire can be considered low-profile."

Cross looked up. "If you want to make some fire, give me a light." He raised an expensive-looking cigar.

Lavi glanced at it. "What is that?" he asked.

Cross grinned. "Roughly three years of Levrier's life once he finds out."

Jesaia's face split into a grin. "Really? In that case, allow me." He snipped his fingers and a small flame appeared on his fingertip. Cross leaned forward and the cigar in his mouth caught fire. He leaned back, savoring the aroma.

Link's eyes widened. "That aroma! Is that what I think it is?"

Cross smiled. "That depends. If you think that this is one of the most expensive cigar-types in the world, then yes, this is exactly what you think."

Kanda looked at the entire situation, then he looked at the forest. It was a six-mile hike to the designated area, which was huge by itself, and he was stuck with these idiots. "Che, get your asses in gear, I want this over with quickly."

Cross raised a brow. "You think you can order me around?"

Kanda was in a miserable mood. "Everyone, get your asses moving or I gut and castrate you before I shove one of the trees up your asses, your choice."

What could be added to a speech like that? Nothing that wouldn't result in the loss of one's balls, so the entire procession silently started heading towards their designated area.

The silence was abruptly broken when they were three miles away from their target area.

"Lord have mercy." Jesaia gasped.

"Oh god." Lenalee was in tears.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Lavi muttered.

"Okay, that's just fucked up." Val stated.

Even Kanda was slightly shaken. "This I could have lived with not seeing."

The entire forest before them was filled with corpses. Some little more than skeletons, some clearly passed on recently. They were nailed to the trees, some simply impaled on branches. These remains formed what appeared to be a giant, five-foot-thick line or huge ring around the area ahead.

"Well, they certainly don't like visitors." Cross stated.

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Allen and his group had made the same discovery, but took it better. Allen was disgusted, Luciano didn't feel to well, the others were more along the lines of mildly interested. Road in particular studied one of the corpses that had a deep gash in its back.

"This was made by a straight blade, like a European sword." she stated, looking at the terrible injury. "But this is interesting, judging by the wounds depth, whatever made it was much stronger than a human. If I didn't know that it was impossible, I'd say someone trained a gorilla or a grizzly to kill this guy."

Allen raised a brow. "You can tell all that from only this old wound?"

She grinned. "Years of experience." Then she latched herself to his arm. "I caused enough injuries to recognize what object causes what kind of injury."

Allen frowned. "No details please." His gaze fell on a mummified corpse that had obviously hung there quite a few years already. There was a small hole in the stomach-area. He froze.

"What's wrong?" Tyki asked.

Allen pointed at the corpse. "I know him."

Lulubelle raised a brow. "I doubt that. He's been dead at least a decade, more likely two."

Allen nodded. "I don't doubt that. I saw him in my vision when I became a Noah."

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_Flashback_

Allen still couldn't take his eyes off of the horrible reflections.

Now he saw a man with a mustache running through the forest, a terrified look on his face. He turned back once or twice, but neither Allen nor the man could see the hunter. Suddenly there was a blast of movement from above at a 45° angle, a flash of metal, and the man fell, dead.  
Then he saw a woman laying on an altar, squirming in desperation. A shadow fell on her, a dagger was raised, then slammed down into her chest. She screamed.  
Then he saw two people in armor, an old man and a younger one, both having the other ones sword run through them. The old man looked angry, the younger one sad. Then the young one spat blood and collapsed while the old one stumbled away.  
Then he was on a battlefield, watching men butcher each other.  
Now he viewed the plundering of a village, and how the women were raped.  
Now the view shifted to a burning castle...

_End of Flashback_

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Lulubelle nodded. "I see. It's true that the visions an awakening Noah has can come from any place and any time, as long as it's in the past. So it's possible you really saw this man's last moments. Do you remember what killed him?"

Allen frowned with concentration. He really didn't want to remember those tragic images, but he realized that unless he wanted to share this poor man's fate, he had to. "Not really. It looked humanoid, but it moved much too fast for a normal human. I also remember that the attack came from above, but the attacker flew farther and faster than a normal human could manage without breaking bones on impact with the ground."

Tyki nodded. "It seems that if those were Arthur's descendants, then the Earl wasn't kidding that the Innocence changed them."

Road shuddered. Allen noticed it and smiled at her as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Road, are you alright?"

Road looked at him. "I'm okay, I just have this really uncomfortable feeling that gets stronger the further we proceed."

Tyki frowned as well. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine!" she snapped. Then she calmed down. "I'm fine, I just have this weird feeling, nothing serious."

Allen was worried, but he knew that arguing would be useless at this point. He nodded and they passed the corpse-line, Allen still uncomfortable around these corpses.

These people obviously didn't like visitors, and they were about to trespass into an area where they obviously would be attacked as soon as they were spotted, and they didn't know how strong their enemies were. It was doubtful that they would be able to defeat one of them in a one-on-one-battle, but even a grizzly can be beaten by a large enough pack of wolves.

Long story short, he had a really bad feeling.

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Jesaia was disgusted, a sentiment shared by all others, though Kanda, Cross and Link didn't show a single emotion. But even they did not like this sight. But there wasn't the time to take these people off the trees and bury them, as much as they would have liked it. So they decided to carefully proceed onwards.

The forest seemed quiet, but they moved carefully, trying to not step on a single branch, freezing and carefully hiding when there was noise, even if it was mostly only small forest animals. But once or twice they heard something that sounded like voices, but none came near. It was like playing hide and seek, only that the stakes were much higher.

Suddenly Lenalee froze. "What's wrong?" Lavi whispered.

Lenalee nervously looked around. "I have this awful feeling that were being watched."

Cross nodded and they noticed he had drawn _Judgment_. "We are. Originally there were three, but one left to inform a few more. They'll be back with a few seconds and then we'll be outnumbered two to one. They look human, but they don't move like normal humans, they're too fast. My advice to you all is simple: Show no mercy, you won't receive any."

The others drew their weapons, then all hell broke loose.

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Meanwhile, Allen and the other Noah, who had walked roughly ten minutes since their encounter with the corpses, were about to be hit by the first wave of their own assault. They could see the group of people that was edging towards them, obviously thinking they were invisible. For normal humans, they probably would be, but even in their human-form, a Noah's eyes were far superior to a humans', especially their night-vision and how fast they adapted in the twilight. For Allen and the others, these people could just as well be waving giant rainbow-colored flags.

Allen looked at the others, who had tensed. The twins had drawn their guns, Luciano's hand had edged towards his wristband, Road was still not looking very good, Lulubelle had stepped in front of her, her right hand suddenly sporting a metallic gleam. Tyki seemed completely calm, as he stepped forward. He smirked.

"Evening gentlemen. A nice day for a walk, wouldn't you agree?" The looks on the opponent's faces were priceless, this had apparently never happened before. These people were used to the situation that nobody would see them unless they wanted to be seen. But they quickly recovered and pulled out swords.

Allen looked at Tyki. "Tyki, do me a favor." Allen said "Dodge those blades, I have a bad feeling about them."

Tyki raised a brow. "And where does this feeling stem from?" he asked.

Allen tensed as the horde seemed to organize itself. "My left arm, if you must know."

Tyki paled slightly. Allen's left arm was Innocence, and that happened to be the one substance he couldn't simply phase through. Allen had told the Noah he trusted that his Innocence was at least semi-sentient and seemed to have a soft-spot for certain Noah, like Road, and might be willing to give life-saving advice. Tyki decided to heed the advice.

And his decision came not a moment too soon, as the horde suddenly charged, at speeds that were closer to a parasitic Innocence-user than a group of normal people. Tyki sidestepped a overhead sword-strike that was obviously meant to cut him in half... and stared in shock as the blade cut through a thick tree like a hot knife through butter. Not only was this a clear indicator of their enemies strength, but it also showed that the swords were not normal either.

Allen and Luciano shifted back to their true forms and called forth their Innocence. To their relief, scythe and cloak were stronger than the primitive swords, so Allen had no regret to let Luciano alone for a second to form a protective bubble around Road, who seemed too weak to last in a real fight. When he looked back, he saw that Lulubelle, Luciano and Jasdevi seemed to be doing just fine on their own.

Luciano was performing a move Allen had never seen before, but it seemed to be effective. First he spun in a circle, leaving slight cut-shaped distortions in the space in front of him, then he changed his grip on the scythe, holding it like a billiard-cue with the tip of the blade hovering half an inch above the ground in front of him. Then, as if to make a shot, he thrusted the entire scythe forward while muttering "_Withering Winds_", causing the distortions to shoot towards his completely shocked opponents. The distortions went through them, but instead of cuts, paper-like gray skin hugging the bones seemingly without any flesh in between appeared on the places hit by the distortions. One man, who would have been decapitated had the distortion been a real blade, reached for his throat and felt his spine through the skin, chocked and collapsed. Those had gotten off lighter howled in anger.

Luciano grinned. "My _Morrigan_ grants me the power over a force. Not fire or a different element, but something much greater. All that stands in my way will crumble to dust, for even rock withers beneath my blade."

Allen had wondered what exactly Luciano could do, but never found the opportunity to ask. Now he had his answer. Luciano's power was _withering_. A powerful gift if used correctly. Allen's cape billowed and swatted two attackers away like pesky flies as Allen looked around to see who might need help.

Jasdevi seemed to be doing fine as well, as they laughed manically while blasting and freezing the forest and all who were in the line of fire. Not a single enemy managed to close in enough to be even near striking-range. They would be fine.

Lulubelle was also in no need of assistance, though Allen noticed an anomaly here. These people were good, not as good as the Noah or a real exorcist, but good, and they were fighting Allen and the others with all they had... except for those fighting Lulubelle! They seemed more intent on capturing her than anything else, as they made more usage of clubs and nets instead of their blades, not that it had any effect on Lulubelle's now liquid body. The bladed whips were the only thing that were solid, as they forced the hordes away.

Looking around Allen noticed that there were surprisingly few casualties. There was one guy that was frozen in one of Jasdevi's _Blue Bombs_, but his companions were already breaking him free. In fact, the only one dead body was the man with the withered throat. He had most likely died from lack of blood reaching the brain long before suffocation could set in. There were a few really nasty injuries, but there was no other victim. These people were much tougher than normal humans, as they still fought with injuries that normal people wouldn't even be able to stand with. But it was more than bravado. Those that were injured beyond the point of effective combat retreated or were carried away by comrades. They viewed their comrades as the most important thing there was.

A loud curse interrupted Allen's thoughts. His head snapped to the side and he saw that Tyki was trying to fling some blood off his glove, without much success. In front of him, a man stumbled backwards, his nose smashed beyond all recognition, his sword long lost. The man uprooted a small tree, obviously intending to make it into a makeshift club, and swung it at Tyki.

Tyki looked at the man, clearly impressed. "You're strong. And I can't simply slip through your defense for some reason. But all this would be a lot less troublesome if you weren't so fast."

The other man snorted and brought the tree down. Allen was about to come to Tyki's rescue, when he realized that Tyki was standing _behind_ the man that had tried to clobber him, and with a single motion, he snapped the man's neck.

Allen jumped next to him. "That seemed a little barbaric compared to your usual methods, Tyki."

Tyki glanced at him. "I don't have much choice, for some reason, I can't phase through them. Phasing in general is much harder here. Which leaves plan B." With that, they jumped out of the way of a sword that was swung at them.

Allen suddenly noticed that a few of the attackers were trying to roll Road's orb away. "And where do you think you're going?" He muttered as he dashed forward, scattering interceptors in the winds.

Tyki looked at his newest foe. "You're annoying, way too strong for a human and incredibly fast." He stated as he ducked under a decapitating swing.

His enemy smirked as he poised the blade to run it through Tyki's body and dashed forward. Suddenly Tyki was behind him, his left arm hanging over his opponent's shoulder, going loosely over his neck and grabbing the other shoulder. Tyki leaned closer towards the man's ear.

"But still not fast enough. From your reaction just now, I know you can understand me, so listen well. I am no ordinary human, we are the Noah. Everyone of us has special gifts, and mine is the ability of choice. I chose what I touch. Normally, I phase through what I don't want to touch like a ghost, but for some reason that doesn't work on you. I'm curious as to why."

The man grinned and actually spoke. "Fool, a proud descendant of the great King Arthur is bound to be immune to thy evil witchcraft."

Tyki blinked. "Shakespearean English? Please tell me you can speak normally." He stated, ignoring the battle raging around them.

"You're right, such noble words are wasted on you scum!" The man hissed.

Tyki sighed. "I'm not going to get an answer from you, am I?"

Instead of answering, the man spat at him, although he missed. Tyki sighed again. "Didn't think so. Anyways, there is something else I can do. If I choose not to touch something, I usually pass through it, but there is an alternative. Instead of phasing through it, I can repel it very effectively. So, if I choose not to touch this," He grabbed the back of the man's head "what do you think will happen? Especially when you consider that I'm holding you by the shoulders."

The man paled. "You're lying! You couldn't possibly..." Whatever the man's next words would have been will forever be a mystery, as his head shot forwards while Tyki held his body in place. With a disgusting noise, the head tore off and slammed into a tree twenty feet away, leaving little more than a red smear on the bark.

Tyki shook his arm. "I just remembered why I don't do that too often, the backlash hurts like a bitch.", he muttered as he faced his next foe.

Allen, who had successfully sent the wannabe-kidnappers packing, winced. Then he jumped behind Tyki, using _Crown Clown's_ cloak to shield him from two attackers that tried a pincer-assault on him. He looked at Tyki. "We've been knocking these guys around for at least ten minutes and there's no end to them! Every time we take one out of the battle, five more show up to take his place. Even we can't go on like this forever, we need to get out of here."

Tyki nodded. "I know, but how? Retreat is not an option with the Earl breathing down our backs, and these guys don't look like they'll let us go any other way."

Allen thought about it. "Can you use the Tease?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Tyki looked at him seriously. "I'm not sure. I tried to call them when Alicia attacked you, but all I got was a sharp pain in my arms."

Allen frowned. "We'll have to do something about that later, but for now, please just try it."

Tyki nodded and focused. Allen pulled back his cape and they dashed under the cover of thousands of black butterflies that swarmed around, obstructing the attackers' vision and actively attacking their eyes.

The others quickly understood and made a dash for it, Allen stopping only to grab Road, who seemed barely conscious, leaving the confused and blinded attackers in the dust. Allen separated himself from _Crown Clown_ and made it go in the opposite direction, leading those that actually managed to pursue them on a wild goose-chase.

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The exorcists were having a slightly harder time with their enemies. Kanda was hacking away all who faced him, their sword-skills, while not bad, nowhere near equal to Kanda's elegant blows.

Cross was calmly shooting whoever approached long before they could do any damage.

Lenalee had chosen to go up high and attacked from above, carefully aiming at points that would only stun instead of kill.

Jesaia went his usual way and threw fire at anything that moved, at one point grabbing a sword and heating it to the point where the owner had to let go of the red-glowing piece of metal. After repeating this process, Jesaia was now swinging around two pieces of extremely heated metal, making all foes think twice about getting close.

Lavi, Link and Val were having a harder time. Their speed and strength wasn't boosted that much by their Innocence, in Link's case there was no Innocence, and these people were just faster than they were.

Lavi was swinging his hammer like a madman, swatting the enemies like mosquitoes, but they were getting closer.

Link was solely relying on his flexibility and talismans to hold his ground, though how long he could last was not certain.

Val was focused on dodging. She noticed that these people weren't trying to kill her, and she mercilessly used that to her advantage. But even so, most of the time she had to dodge, which pissed her off to no end, especially since she would be much more effective in her true form. But revealing that was stupid, revealing that in front of exorcists was beyond stupid, and to reveal that in front of a general was suicide, so she remained human.

Jesaia blasted away a man that tried to kill Link from behind and jumped to his side, shooting flames to force the attackers away for a few seconds. During this short breather, Jesaia looked at Link. "So, now that the plan is obviously shot to hell, what do we do?"

Link ignored the slight sarcasm as he answered. "Now we improvise."

The exorcists were slowly getting pushed back , when Val snapped and did what no man would do unless absolutely desperate: She grabbed her attacked and sunk her knee deep into his groin with massive force and speed. The man gave a short squeal like a panicked rat, then he silently collapsed.

All fighting stopped as everyone stared in shock, a lone cricket was the sole sound in the dreadful silence that had fallen on the battlefield. Jesaia gulped. "What did you just do?" He asked, even though everyone knew the answer.

She gave him a brilliant smile. "I improvised."

Cross chuckled, even though it sounded a bit forced. "And this is why pissing off a woman is never a good idea."

Val gave him a smile, albeit a slightly darker one. "Words of wisdom. But this has gone on long enough." She pulled out her flute. "_Innocence activate: Divine: Lullaby of Hypnos_"

Just as fast as the attack had begun, it was over. All attackers collapsed into a deep slumber.

Jesaia blinked. "So, we were fighting this whole time when you could have done that from the beginning?" He asked incredulously.

Val shook her head. "No, these guys didn't give me the time to grab my flute, so it was only an option after everyone stopped and stared." She calmly stated, ignoring the reason they had all stared.

Cross nodded. "I see. Can you get any information out of them or should we just find some cover?"

Val smiled and walked to the next-best sleeper, a roughly twenty-year old blond, grabbed him by the hair and unceremoniously pulled him up to eye-level. "_Answer my questions_." She ordered in a dark voice. And the man began to talk.

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After ten minutes of running, they took a short break and Luciano asked what was on everybodys' mind. "Now what? We don't know this place well enough to find safe hiding places and we don't have any information on what the hell is going on here. All we know is that they're insanely strong and don't like visitors. That's not much, and we don't know the location of our target either. How are we supposed to find it, this forest is huge!"

Allen shrugged. "I have no..." He began when a voice interrupted him.

"Um, I may be able to help." A timid voice spoke up. They spun around to see a boy with blond hair and blue eyes standing a few feet away, looking terribly uncomfortable. A second later he had reason to be uncomfortable, as a blood-red scythe-blade was hovering right in front of his neck, and the tip of Lulubelle's bladed hand was resting right above his heart. He gulped and slowly raised his hands, the universal gesture for 'I come in peace and have no weapon.'

Allen looked at him. "Who are you?"

The boy seemed in a hurry to answer. "Mynameisarthurand..."

Tyki raised a hand. "Slow down, we can't understand. Lulubelle, why don't we let him breath for now?" Lulubelle's hand returned to normal. Luciano glared at both Tyki and their hostage, but Allen nodded and Luciano's scythe returned to it's dormant form as a wristband.

Allen smiled at him. "Now, could you try that again?"

The boy nodded. "My name is Arthur, and I live here. I couldn't help but overhear that you were looking for a safe place, and I know this forest better than anyone else, so I thought I'd offer my assistance."

Tyki raised a brow. "So, if you're one of the people that attacked us, why are you helping us?"

Arthur looked down. "Because I don't agree with them. I don't think what we're doing is right."

Allen raised a brow. "And what are you doing?"

Arthur shook his head. "Not here, follow me. I know a cave not far from here that nobody else knows about. We'll talk there."

The Noah looked at each other, but there was really no better option, so they followed him.

Lulubelle leaned towards Tyki. "Why are we following this _human_ around?" She asked, putting a low hiss on the word human.

Tyki looked at her. "Because he knows the way and we don't. If he tries to trick us he dies, but for now, he's useful." He calmly replied.

Lulubelle nodded, it made sense.

Allen, who had not been listening to his siblings, decided that the hunt for his cloak had gone on long enough and deactivated his Innocence.

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Almost twenty miles away, a white cloaked figure suddenly stopped and turned to his pursuers, who stopped as well, weapons drawn. The cloak gave a short bow, and the silver mask seemed to give them an amused look, then the figure faded away completely, leaving a confused and raging mob behind.

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Arthur held his promise and brought them to a cave that would be impossible to find, even if you were looking for it, unless you already knew where it was. It was spacy and with thick tree roots coming out of the walls, there was enough space to sit and even lay down without getting dirty. Road seemed to be doing better, she had fallen into a peaceful slumber moments after they had set her down.

Allen cleared his throat. "I think now would be a good time to answer some of our questions."

Arthur nodded. "We have lived in the depths of this forest ever since King Arthur's time. Our settlements are situated close to the lake where Excalibur rests."

Tyki's eyes widened. "Excalibur is at the bottom of a lake?"

Arthur shook his head. "No, it's on a small island in the center of the lake. There is only one way to reach it, and that path is very exhausting and difficult to cross. Every descendant of Arthur may attempt to remove the sword from the stone it is placed into, but only on his fifteenth birthday. So everyone has only one chance, after that they must stay away from the lake for the rest of their lives."

Lulubelle looked at him. "So the lake is only approached once in a human's life?"

Arthur frowned. "Not exactly. Every newborn is bathed in the lake's waters at birth, at a marriage, the couple is being sprinkled by the water, and all weapons are forged with it, but the high priest is the only one who may take enter the lake, and only for these purposes."

Luciano spoke up. "So why do you kill all who get close?"

"And what do you do with the women?" Allen added, remembering the difference in attack-patterns for him and Lulubelle.

Arthur sighed. "That's what I don't agree with. Most of my clan believe that strangers can't be trusted and would try to steal our sacred sword. The men are killed and hanged on the trees as a warning not to enter. The women..." He looked at the ground and bit his lips.

Tyki looked at him. "The women what?"

A tear ran down Arthur's cheek. "The women become Ladies of the Lake. They are sacrificed and their spirits bound to protect the lake from all who shouldn't be there."

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Lenalee stared at the man who had just given out this horrible information with a smile and a voice filled with pride. The others were shocked as well. Val stared with disgust, then she slammed the man's head back into the ground.

She looked at Cross. "Make us invisible now, or I swear you will envy the guy I kicked."

Cross remained calm, but the coffin appeared very quickly. Maria stepped out and a moment later, they were invisible to all who might have looked their way.

Val shuddered. "Let's move, I don't want to stay here longer than necessary."

The others shuddered, nodded and seconds later, they really were gone.

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Allen's face was a grimace of disgust, the others were not quite as moved, but for some reason, a tinge of sorrow was in their hearts as well. Tyki took a deep breath.

"As upsetting as this is, we need more information, specifically the layout of this place" He stated.

Arthur nodded and broke off a small root to draw in the sand. "We are here." He drew a cross into the sand.

"And the settlement is here." He drew a few squares, a few inches away from the cross. "It's roughly four miles to the southeast. There are around 2000 people living there, and we are all trained in the way of the sword, even the women. In an emergency, nobody would hesitate to go into battle, not even the children or elderly. We are all gifted with superhuman strength and speed, the priest says it's because Arthur's blood flows in our veins."  
He then drew a skull to the left of the settlement. "This is one of our sacred places, according to legend where Arthur and Mordred fought and where latter died. We bury our deceased here, but otherwise, it's abandoned, so it'd make a good resting place, as long as you don't make a fire, it's a giant meadow. And finally,"  
He drew a circle to the right of the settlement "the lake with Excalibur is here. I couldn't help but overhear you speak, so I know that this is your goal. I don't mind, if that's what it takes for this madness to end, then I'd personally deliver the sword to you. But be careful, there are patrols around the lake, and the path is always guarded so that nobody who doesn't have the right gets close to the sword."

Tyki nodded. "That's valuable information. But I can't help but wonder. Considering your lineage, the name Arthur would not be something that would be given to just any child, yet you bare that name. Why?"

Arthur looked at the floor. "My parents told me that when I was born and bathed in the lake, the entire lake seemed to tremble. My parents took this as a sign and named me Arthur, believing that I was his reincarnation." His look became very sad. "But up till now, I have been nothing but a disappointment for everyone. And looking at my actions, that's not about to change." He stood up. "I have to go now, or it will seem suspicious. I'll be back soon."

Allen nodded and the boy left. Allen activated _Crown Clown_ and told him to keep an eye on Arthur, just in case. Then the Noah formed a circle to discuss these new informations.

Allen spoke first. "Okay, I'm not sure what to think, but if what Arthur said is true, and I'm fairly sure it is, then we have a possible explanation for the strength and speed of these people."

Jasdero blinked. "We do?"

Tyki face-palmed. "Yes we do. The Earl mentioned that the Greek heroes got their strength from a sacred spring, and he also mentioned that he thought Innocence was involved. If we follow that train of thought, it's getting clear that the water has absorbed some of the qualities of the Innocence that's so close by. The water isn't Innocence, but it's saturated with the power of Innocence, which it gives to the infants and the weapons it cools."

"Aah." Was all the twins said.

Lulubelle gave them an annoyed look, then she looked at the others. "So, how will we proceed?"

Allen spoke. "I sent my Innocence to keep an eye on him, I have a special connection to it. If he rats us out, we make a break for it, but if he keeps his word, I'd say it's safe to stay the night. Looking at the sky, I'd say it'll rain soon. Rain hard. And I really don't want to be outside for that. Excalibur has been here for the last few centuries, it won't run away if we wait another day. And I don't want to move Road, the rest seems to do her good. But maybe we should guard the entrance, just in case this cave isn't as unknown as Arthur thought."

The others nodded and decided to call it a day, Lulubelle taking the first watch, Allen checking what his mental link gave him as the rain started falling.

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The exorcists had been lucky to find a cave before the rain turned into a torrent. Even luckier for them, Jesaia was able to create a type of fire that, while warming them all, neither smoked nor gave any light to someone farther away than ten feet, which was immensely practical.

They looked at each other, then Val spoke. "We got the layout of the place out of that bastard, but we still have no plan on what to do. We know, or at least we're pretty sure that the water of that lake, strengthened by the Innocence, is granting these people their power, and even if we reach our target unnoticed, we have no idea how to get the sword out of the stone, considering these strength-freaks couldn't do it and after all these years of hulks pulling on it, the thing is still held as securely as on day one."

The others nodded. Cross spoke. "My estimation is that it is held by magic that only allows it's true wielder to wield it, though it could just as well be the will of the Innocence itself. But I think it's magic, no normal rock could withstand the strain it took."

Val raised a brow. "Magic? You have got to be shitting me."

Cross shook his head. "No, I'm not. The Earl for example is a great magician, one of the best. In fact, on the long history of mankind, there was only a single person that was superior to him. The only one that could go toe-to-toe with the Earl when magic was involved and walk away from it was..." He suddenly stopped, a dark, solemn look flashing on his face before vanishing behind his usual mask of slightly amused disinterest.

"Was who?" Lavi asked, this information was new to him. According to his sources, the Earl was the greatest magician to ever walk the earth, using his seemingly endless life to find new spells. There was no known person that was the Earl's equal, let alone his better.

Cross glared at him. "That's not important. We wait till the rain stops, then we try to find a way to get the sword and leave!" He all but barked at them.

Lavi decided that this little outburst revealed some interesting things. For some reason, Cross didn't want to talk about this mage, which hinted to both a personal relationship of some sort and a tragic end. Considering it was Cross who they were talking about, it had probably been a woman. Bookman would be interested in this, and maybe leave him alone for a few days while trying to find out the identity of this mage.

But for now, sleeping out the rain seemed like a good idea, so they laid down while Cross sat in front of the entrance and stared out into the rain.

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_Crown Clown_ was elegantly gliding through the rain, somehow avoiding the drops as it followed the boy to his house. He barely made it before the downpour started. While the Innocence couldn't really hear, it was able to analyze and judge whether or not an action was treacherous to it's master, and read intentions, so it calmly observed for any hint of betrayal.

Meanwhile, Arthur was sitting in front of a table, waiting for his father and older brother to return, while his mother cooked, completely ignoring him. Then the door opened and his father stepped in.

His mother ran towards him and gave him a short kiss. "Did anything happen?"

His father looked grim. "You could say that. There was another group of invaders, but these were unlike anything I've ever seen before. First they looked like people, then their skin turned gray as ash. The men were monsters and the woman that fought seemed to be a Lady of the Lake already, as her entire body turned to water when I tried to throw a net at her. But her arms were horrible, swift and bending like a whip, but sharp as a blade at the same time."

His wife gasped. "Monsters."

Arthur's father slammed his fist on the table. "It gets worse. They got William and Pelgran. And Parafan has a broken neck, we don't know if he'll make it."

Tears ran down his wife's face, she knew all three. "How? They're strong warriors, worthy of knighthood, how could they be...?"

Arthur gulped while his father's face twisted in rage. "They had some sort of sorcery! Parafan got hit because he got careless, but William and Pelgran were slaughtered without a chance to fight back. One of them had a red scythe, he swung it through the air, sending his evil power flying like arrows. What they hit dried up until the entire flying cut was, well, withered like an old dead tree. Poor William never stood a chance, at the end his neck was as thick as my thumb. Pelgran was worse. Another grabbed him from behind, and before anyone realized what happened, his head was flying through the air, and smashed at a tree."

"Great forefather." She muttered.

He nodded. "But the one that scared me most, was the ghost. He had snow-white hair and once we attacked, he was suddenly wrapped in a white cape that no blade could penetrate. He was so fast, it was like a mirage. And worse is that he was the strongest thing I've ever felt. I and a few others tried to hold him off when comrades tried to take a sick girl that was with them, but with a mere motion, he swatted us away like flies. Then the cloak formed some sort of bubble, and when it opened, swarms of black butterflies came out and blinded us, literally! Those insects went for our eyes, some of my men are still blind! What really scared me is that we chased him when he ran. Then he just turned around, gave us a mocking look and faded away into thin air. Merlin help us, evil is approaching."

Arthur silently winced. He had seen the battle, but chose not to engage. But what worried him was that his father was drinking while telling his gruesome tales, and he tended to get violent on him when drunk. Arthur knew he was useless in every ones' eyes, so there would be no one to help him.

The door opened again and his older brother entered, soaking wet and bleeding from the nose. "What happened to you, son?"

Valan spat out, and one could see some blood in his spit. "We found intruders and attacked, but they were unlike anything I've seen before. One was a swordsman of incredible skill, he was the only honorable in the bunch. The others were warlocks and witches. One relentlessly threw fire at us, while a red-haired man used something that looked like those weird weapons some of the other invaders used, but that one didn't cause flesh-wounds and scratch bones, everyone who got hit flew right through the next tree. There were two girls, one was just dodging while the other one walked on air and cowardly attacked from above. Then the other girl did something that may have destroyed Vincent's manhood. After that they cast a spell that caused us all to fall into a darkness where we could neither see nor move. When we came to, they were gone."

"Horrible son, but what happened to your face?" The father asked.

Valan ground his teeth. "There was one more, he swung a hammer that could change from tiny to humongous in an instant. The flying girl attacked a comrade and I let myself get distracted for a moment, during which the man nailed me with his hammer." That was a lie, in reality he had been fine when he fell asleep and woke up with a bloodied face. But because he was the only one wounded in his sleep, he lied both to his comrades and his parents. In the heat of battle, nobody remembered who got hit when and by what.

Then Valan turned his attention to Arthur. "And how was your day? Oh yeah, you stayed away from the fighting while proud men risked their lives! Pathetic fool, they should have left you underwater at the ceremony, then you couldn't have brought such shame to the great Arthur's name!"

Instead of defending him, his mother gave Arthur a cold glare. His father stared at him in anger, then, without warning, he threw his empty wooden cup at Arthur, who never saw it coming. He was hit on the forehead and blood quickly flowed down his face. Arthur knew it would heal quickly and perfectly, but it still hurt, especially when his father muttered "Useless." before getting a new cup.

Arthur sighed. Useless, that was a word that had followed him his entire life. He wanted to be useful, just not part of this genocide his clan was practicing. But perhaps he could be a help to those that just might end this madness.

Outside in the rain, _Crown Clown_ observed and sent information to Allen, who felt both his respect for Arthur rise, and a burning anger at those who mistreated him like this.

Arthur's father turned his attention away from his bleeding child back to his wife. "We'll get them, all of them. Tomorrow the patrols will be tripled in size and reinforcements will be waiting so that when they're found, the other patrols won't leave their posts and let somebody slip through. By the next sundown, they will be hanging from a tree, it we leave enough to hang!" His wife nodded, not caring for Arthur in the least.

Arthur had listened to everything and would continue to listen, so that tomorrow, he could give enough information for all this to end. And maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't be useless, just for once.

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Link had set up the portable-gate-generator-backpack and gave a report on the situation that surpassed even the worst expectations through the inbuilt telephone. Levrier's orders didn't change, they were to get the Innocence, and if they had to slaughter every soul in the area to do it, then he didn't care. Big surprise here.

Lavi sighed. "Let's see, from what we gathered, the fastest way for us to reach the lake with our target would be going right through the settlement with Maria. A second, but safer way would be crossing the graveyard, then using the cover of the trees to get there unnoticed. The graveyard is our best shot if we want to conserve our Generals' strength while the other way is faster. Everyone, we have to make up our minds by tomorrow. For now... YAWN... I suggest we hit the sack. Who wants first watch?"

Nobody spoke. "Jeez, not all at once." Jesaia joked. Val and Lenalee were raising their hands, but Cross would have none of that.

"Ladies need their beauty sleep, I'll keep watch." He stated.

Who could argue with that? None of them, so everybody went to sleep while Cross sat at the entrance, thought no outsider could understand running through his head.

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The next day Arthur stepped out of the house, only to find his brother waiting for him. "Valan." he muttered.

His brother looked at him with hatred. "Arthur." He grabbed him by the collar and lifted him above the ground. "I still don't get how something like you could have been born into our noble clan. What disgusts me most is that in a few days, you will turn fifteen. Your filthy hands will touch Excalibur, that I find a blasphemy to a blade so sacred. Why don't you just leave and spare us the embarrassment? Why should such a noble blade like Excalibur want anything to do with a useless weakling like you of all people?"

Arthur looked at him. He wasn't weak and Valan knew that, he just disliked hurting someone for no reason or motive. Maybe that was weak to these warriors. He looked at the ground, which only enraged his brother further, who gave him a hook that ripped his collar and sent him flying backwards.

Valan spat out, narrowly missing him due to a slight breeze that had risen up. "You don't belong here. You should leave, we don't stop cowards like you from leaving."

Arthur stood up and left. Valan followed him with his eyes, then he turned away. Who cared what his brother did today.

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"WHERE THE HELL IS HE?!" A shout woke the exorcists. They blinked. That wasn't possible. Link was calmness incarnated, there was no way that he would shout like that.

"What's wrong?" Val asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Link took a deep breath. "It seems that our General decided to take a vacation. He's gone."

Now they were wide awake. Cross was gone? This was bad news. Jesaia cursed, but Lavi raised a hand.

"Bad as this whole mess is, we can't really do anything about it, so there's no point in getting all worked up." He sighed. "Well, on the bright side, our problem about the route has solved itself."

Link nodded. "Without Cross, trying to go through the settlement would be suicide. We'll take the route through the graveyard."

"Let's hope that our path won't be our final destination." Jesaia muttered.

Val smirked. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Jesaia grinned. "Now hiding behind a girl, even one as cute as this one, is something my pride wouldn't survive, so it's time to march."

Val smirked and extended a hand to help him up. He took it and a second later, he was on his feet. The others were also ready to leave.

Lavi grinned. "I'm not one for speeches, so I'll make this short and sweet. Today will be hell, stay on your toes. We're going in alive, and we're coming out the same way. Thank you for your attention, let's go."

The others nodded and the group began their careful journey to the lake, knowing that their chances of success without blood were not that high.

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The Noah's morning was more peaceful. Allen was the only one still awake when Arthur approached. Allen had deactivated his Innocence the moment Arthur was in his line of vision. He was happy that his hope and belief in this boy had not been disappointed. He woke the others and by the time Arthur arrived, they were all awake.

Arthur reported what he had overheard and the Noah frowned. "The exorcists are here as well, no doubt they want the sword as much as we do. But they don't have a guide, so they're progress will not be as fast as ours. Still, we should get a move on."

Arthur nodded. "I'll lead the way and keep an eye out, the patrols are used to me wandering through these woods."

The others nodded and followed Arthur in a safe distance so that they wouldn't be spotted with him, Tyki carrying Road. Allen looked at Arthur's back, a ominous feeling that he couldn't place coming over him. Something would happen, but Allen didn't know if it'd be good or bad, all he knew was that it involved Arthur. And Allen was right, before the sun set, Arthur Pendragon would cease to exist.

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Chapter 20 is done. The longest chapter I've ever written, over 10.000 words of story. Don't get your hopes up, this won't be my usual chapter length, see it as a way to celebrate the twentieth chapter. I also said that I'd make the next chapter longer, and longer it is. My respect for those authors who write 10.000+ words per chapter on a regular basis has skyrocketed, kudos to you.

This could have been done ten days ago, but school dragged me to Greece. To all Greek reading this, I have nothing against Greece, but from my experience, when god made Greece, he was out of everything but plants, rocks, mountains and mosquitoes. I've been stung at least ten to twenty times, which is really annoying. But what's done is done, and it wasn't that bad a trip.

The water of the lake gave the descendants of Arthur their strength, also stopping the usual disfigurements and mutations that show up with centuries of inbreeding. Road is weakened because as I've written before, Dreams are very easily influenced, the other Noah sans Allen are also slightly weakened. And Arthur's descendants are still weaker than a Noah or even a parasitic-type, but they have sword-skills and strength in numbers, just to make things clear.

And the thing with the demons was something I wanted to mention last chapter, but forgot. For now, it's just background-information, but I may or may not decide to give a real demon some screen-time, maybe if I decide to make a sequel or twist the story a bit.

Oh, and I decided if i add another Noah, it won't be one of the canon-ones, they don't really sit right with me, though again I create an exorcist with all-seeing eyes, and a Noah with five of them appears in canon. Either coincident got me again, my mind is similar to the author's, or someone in the DGM-production is using some of my ideas (yeah right, like that will ever happen).

Now onto the questions.

1. How do you think will things play out? What will happen next?

2. Where did Cross disappear to and why did he leave?

3. Who will reach the goal first? Who will get the prize?

4. Writing battle-scenes is still really tough on me. How did you like this one, was it alright?

5. Just for curiosity's sake: What should the new Noah represent? I've pretty much already decided, but I'm always interested in my readers' opinions.

6. The usual: How did you like this, what can I do better, on a score from 1 to 10, etc...?

7. Tell me whatever you want to tell me.

To addenza: Your idea was not bad, but the Skull aren't really front-line warriors, and considering that they went looking for replacements at Exorcist headquarters of all places after Cross destroyed three or four of them also indicates that the Earl doesn't have very many of them, so he wouldn't send them into unknown dangers.

To Winged Golden Tiger: Thanks for the love, but Archangels are a very scarce source. Each one is overkill, and having too many in actual combat would bring the curtain down much faster while taking all fun out of it, so they need to be used carefully to keep the story interesting. And I already have an Uriel, he's the third Archangel that looks like a child and has the power of the _Light of Judgment_. Check chapter 16, that's where he has his first appearance.

To tsub4ki: Thanks for your review, it's appreciated. As for strength-levels within the Order, they're not like they may seem at first. I'm giving my OCs more screen-time because unlike canon-characters, their strength is not known. If I had to make a ranking that ignored the Generals, It'd look like this:

1. Kanda/Val (Kanda is technically stronger, but Val can bring sleep and death to all who hear her melody)  
2. Lenalee (with her purer Innocence)  
3. Jesaia (Effective in short and long range combat)  
4. Crowrey (in sheer strength superior to Jesaia, but focused on close range)  
5. Lavi/Noise Marie (roughly on the same level, difference in experience and style balance each other out)  
6. Bookman/Chaoji (one is inexperienced, the other one doesn't try that hard to bond with his Innocence)  
7. Timothy/Miranda/Dagmar (all more support than frontline, first two risk leaving themselves open to attack, Dagmar's non-visual boosts focus on speed and agility.)

To terracannon876: I'll try not to overpower Allen. Wait, that's not phrased correctly. His power will eventually become insane, but there will be drawbacks so that he doesn't overuse it to become invincible. Is the new Noah one of the freed ones? You are perceptive, and completely right. Hope to hear from you soon. Same to all my readers.

I've truly done enough for now, and if I don't get some reviews for this, I'll really be upset. I wrote 21 PAGES, something I never dreamed I'd do one day, so I'd really like a nice big review-reward for my hard work, PLEASE.

Enough said, enough begged, now it's your turn.

Please Review


	21. In caring Hands

Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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For the millionth time, Lavi's eyes darted around. Without Cross, this walk was becoming a single, nerve-wrecking walk through hell. Everyone was trying to levitate over the floor to avoid stepping on branches, which was nearly impossible in this forest. He had the sneaking suspicion that those sword-wielding madmen that called themselves villagers had spread even more branches on the floor, so that they made more noise. The entire group froze at the slightest sound, often not moving for an entire minute before proceeding. The only one who bothered to not keep your weapon in your hand was Kanda, and the only reason Mugen was still in its sheath was that Kanda's Iai-strike was near the top of the 'List of things you just don't survive'.

Needless to say, they were not making much progress. The plane that doubled as the graveyard had just come into sight. Lavi felt the hairs on his neck stand up. This was were things really went to hell, and he only hoped they didn't follow.

And he was right. They were roughly in the middle of the plane when a for this population decent-sized army broke through the foliage.

Jesaia summed up all their thoughts. "Fuck."

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The Noah didn't do much better. They were making slow progress, but thanks to their guide, they avoided many close calls and were much closer to the lake than the exorcists. Unfortunately, it seemed that the closer you got to the lake, the more people they had to avoid. Of course, they could just kill them, but then the entire village would pounce on them. They could probably win that, but then the exorcists would snag the sword in the commotion, which would make the Earl pissed. And that was not something anyone wanted.

Hence the sneaking around like a bunch of common thieves. Arthur was going a distance in front of the others, in order to be able to warn them in case anyone approached. But in the end, it was no use, as Jasdevi lost patience with the foliage.

"FUCK!" "I HATE THIS FOREST!" They shouted as they had stepped into a thorn-bush. The others could only stare.

"Have you lost it? We're trying _not_ to get noticed, and you just shout like madmen!" Tyki hissed, still carrying Road. Then they heard the trampling of feet coming their way. Of many feet.

"Great." Allen moaned, while Jasdevi had the decency to look ashamed, even though they had drawn their weapons with a happy expression. After all, now they could blast the damn forest.

Lulubelle rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Allen, since you are the one that's supposed to 'modify' the sword, you go on with Arthur. We'll handle things here."

Allen shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, I should stay and help."

Tyki rolled his eyes. "We're not as helpless as you may think, and in a minute tops, we'll have enemies swarming us like flies a shit-heap, and if the exorcists use the commotion to get the sword, the Earl will have our heads. Now go!"

Arthur hesitantly grabbed Allen's shoulder. "Y-You have to respect their decision. And they're m-much stronger than anything my village c-can throw at them. I-I also heard a whistle a while ago, meaning that there is another fight going on, probably these e-exorcists. The village's forces will be split, and I'm fairly certain the b-bulk will go after the others, who didn't k-k-kill anyone. They're not as brave as they c-claim, not that I'm one to talk about courage. A-A-Anyways, we have to leave!"

Allen bit his lip, then he nodded and they ran.

Only after they were gone Tyki realized he was still carrying Road. Since it was too late to call back Allen, he hid her as best as he could, barely managing to finish before the attackers arrived.

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Cross was standing in front a a lake. In the center of the lake there was a small island, barely more than a bunch of rocks piled together. Only one rock stood out from the others. It was perfect cube, the thing everyone was looking for sticking out of the top. Excalibur. Cross could literally feel the power coming from this legendary blade, but his eyes also noticed the runes on it. As he suspected, they were designed to keep something out, or in this case in, unless the focus of the runes willed it. Aka, only the true wielder could remove the sword. That also meant that the only way they, or the Earl, could get the sword was by taking the stone as well.

Cross knew the Earl had tried forever to get this sword, but the sheer aura of the blade made Akuma collapse like puppets with cut strings long before they even got close. They weren't destroyed, they just didn't work anymore. As far as he knew, the villagers just made a sort of scrapheap somewhere in the forest where they dumped them. He smirked when he thought what his stupid apprentice would say if he found it. "He'd probably make a nice firework." Cross muttered, knowing full well that the rambling old man could neither hear nor see him, or even his footprints.

The man was standing in front of what was clearly a sacrificial altar, testing the restraints that kept the victim from squirming too much, and generally preparing it for use.

The man muttered something about wanting to have more ladies of the lake, and Cross muttered that he'd turn the man into Swiss-cheese if he tried. He could clearly see what was going on on the lake. He could see the restless spirits, chained and bound into service. Cross knew that these spirits would attack anyone who tried to reach the sword by other means than the small path that consisted of slippery, jagged rocks that pointed out of the water. He also knew that these spirits would not attack his body, but tear apart his soul. While souls could recover from things that bodies couldn't, being shredded was not one of them. It was a painful way to go and Cross had no intention of meeting his maker this early.

Cross analyzed what he saw and found that all the women's ghosts were held by four seals. The altar as the vessel catching the life, aka the blood, as a sign of the place of death. Then the ritual dagger, representing the cause of death and severing the connection of body and spirit. Excalibur's stone was actually binding the the spirits, limiting their mobility to the lake. The final object was a necklace around the old man's neck, signifying the murderer that kept the spirits from moving on. All four had to be destroyed for the spirits to be released.

Cross snorted. "I'm starting to sound like my stupid apprentice." he muttered.

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Tyki cursed. While the Noah were easily wiping the floor with these wannabe-knights, he was doing a little harder than the others. This was simply not his fighting-style. He could fight better than many others, but his preferred way of combat was to phase through attacks and pump Tease into his opponents. His actual combat-skills were better then that of other Noah, like Jasdevi when not united, but he was used to actual combat being one-on-one, seeing as exorcists, the only ones who had something he couldn't phase through, didn't come in swarms. So while he could fight these gnats off without too much of a hassle, he still wasn't used to fighting against great numbers. He glanced around.

Jasdevi were doing well enough, relentlessly peppering the enemy with all they had. They had even called out their fake Earl, who was still enough to plow through the enemy's lines like a wild bull through a curtain.

Lulubelle seemed to follow the saying 'Why change something that works well?', as she was once again liquid, with the exception of her whip-like arms. All attempts to capture her ended with blood of the ones foolish enough to try.

Luciano seemed to be getting better with his scythe, as he danced around his enemies while his weapon produced a gray aura that sapped the strength out of his enemies the closer they got to him. Additionally, it seemed to strengthen the weapon as Tyki saw when one of the men blocked Luciano's scythe. When the actual blade was stopped, a afterimage of sorts continued, slashing through the defender's body, withering it to the point that the man dropped to the floor in two pieces. Luciano looked at the corpse, then he swung his scythe above it, reducing the corpse to dust.

One of the men howled in outrage. "Have thou no respect for the fallen?"

Luciano looked at the man. "Respect is for those who deserve it murderer, not for the likes of you." With that, he rammed _Morrigan's_ blade into the ground, then pulling it out forwards creating a slash-wave similar to the one he had sent towards the exorcists. It cleaved the shouter in half.

Tyki sighed as he snapped another neck. They were doing fine, he was doing okay, Road was... "Road!"

The villagers had found her and were carrying her away. "Oh no you don't!" Tyki hissed as he dashed towards the kidnappers, only to be stopped by two villagers.

"Oh yes we do! Say goodbye to the girl, she'll have the honor of becoming a Lady of the Lake!"

Tyki lost his patience. "Out of my way!" He grabbed the two by the heads and rejected. The two heads met with such force that they completely shattered on impact, sending gore splattering in the directions of reject. But the men's suicidal actions had served their purpose, Tyki had lost sight of Road. "Dammit!"

The Noah plus Deminoah jumped together. "What now?" Jasdero asked, seeing that Tyki was well beyond pissed.

Tyki looked thirsty for blood. "No mercy for the damned."

Luciano was imagining what Allen would do to him once he found out he'd let these lunatics take Road, and he wasn't liking what came to mind. He made a swipe with his scythe, the slash killing five attackers and a bunch of trees. "No escape from catastrophe." He added.

Lulbelle nodded. "Genocide seems to be our best option here."

None of the Noah felt like talking about the weird feeling they were all getting ever since they came here. It was hard to identify, but all had reached the shocking conclusion that it was...

...Regret.

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Allen looked back for what was probably the thousandth time. Arthur's words had reassured him, and they had talked. Allen had told him about his life in the Order, about his life with the Noah, even about the Deminoah and the Level 5's, but he still had this feeling something was terribly wrong. Arthur noticed it.

"H-Have faith in your comrades. I-I know that they're very s-strong, they'll be fine. We're almost at the lake, o-only thirty more yards until the trees end at the shore. It seems that we're lucky, as the fighting seems to have distracted all guards." He said, then he tensed. "Hide!" he hissed, and Allen vanished.

Moments later, a young man stepped out of the woods into Arthur's field of vision. Arthur winced. This was the the last person he wanted to see, his brother Valan.

"Arthur, I need to talk to you." he stated.

Arthur blinked. Valan had never wanted to talk before, so why now? "O-Okay."

"You should leave as soon as you can, this commotion might be your best chance. Let's face it, you don't have what it takes, and your sullying Arthur's name every moment you spend here. It's not forbidden to leave, only to return, so that would be your best option." Valan stated coldly.

Arthur looked down. "I-I'll stay. M-M-Maybe I'll leave someday, b-but right now, there's something I want to do." The last part came out without a stutter.

Valan looked him in the eye. "I see. Do whatever you want."

Arthur nodded and continued to walk towards the lake. He passed his brother and walked on, when Valan talked again. "Your birthday is soon, isn't it?"

Arthur didn't turn around. "I think so."

Valan blinked. "You think? Oh, right I forgot, how should you know your exact birthday, we haven't celebrated it since you were four, so it makes sense."

Arthur nodded silently and continued walking.

Valan continued. "In that case..."

Arthur stopped mid-step. He completely froze. Then, slowly, he turned his head, first looking down, then behind him. A dribble of blood came from the corner of his mouth and dropped on the blade that was run through his chest.

Valan sneered. "...happy birthday, brother."

Arthur opened his mouth. "Why?"

Valan's face turned into a grimace of hatred. "Because unlike everyone else, I'm not an idiot, Arthur. I saw you train by yourself, you have long mastered our style, brought it to new heights. I saw how the water reacted when you were put in it as an infant, and I knew that moment you were Excalibur's wielder. Every time you even get near the lake shivers go through it, and the waters try to crawl to you. The only reason you're seen as weak is because you have some sort of morals binding you. I won't accept having to bow before my younger brother. All these years I destroyed your self-confidence, undermined your progress, hoping you'd just leave or kill yourself. But no, you stubbornly remain here, and now you're heading towards the lake. I won't let you Arthur, I won't let you become a king. Our village is large, and our family has been in charge for generations. As the firstborn and worthy heir, the rule would pass over to me, do you really think I'll let you just take that away? Don't worry brother, I'll tell the others you were brave for once and were killed by a superior enemy. That way, our family's good name won't be sullied and you won't be remembered as the useless maggot that you are."

He raised his sword, preparing to decapitate his brother. Valan's gaze wandered up, and met the the golden gaze of a young man with black hair and cross-marks on his forehead that was draped in a white cloak. "The ghost." He muttered, horrified.

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Allen stared at the scene before him. This man had just skewered his own brother, out of greed for power. This was not something Allen could accept. Compassion welled inside of him, and suddenly Allen felt strange. He was completely calm. All he knew was that there was one thing he had to do, and that was send this man to hell. He charged.

Valan was nervous. The stuff he had heard about this figure were impressive, if not frightening. He was much faster and stronger than any of them, and that was saying something. Also, Valan didn't like the look in the man's eyes. They were empty, devoid of any emotion. He bit his lip to get his head clear, then he kicked Arthur out of the way, not daring to move the sword from a position in which he could quickly react to any and all attacks. It would prove to be useless.

He thrusted his sword forward, hoping that the ghost impaled himself on the unbreakable blade. After all, no sword forged with the waters of the lake had ever even chipped.

Allen moved his head to the right, letting the tip of the blade sail past his ear, then he grabbed it with his left hand, and with a single motion, broke it.

Valan stared in shock at his sword which was suddenly only half its original length. "Impossible!" He gasped, before noticing he had made a mistake: He had taken his eyes off his enemy. Said enemy was holding the broken blade-tip like a dagger and, without a moment's hesitation, rammed it into his leg, shortly above the knee. Valan collapsed to his knees, holding his injured leg, taking his eyes off the enemy for a second time. He looked up just in time to see an ax-kick coming down, right on the broken blade.

He howled in pain as the blade went through his upper leg and pierce his calf, effectively nailing his leg together. His eyes widened in pain and he screamed. But Allen wasn't done yet.

He grabbed the sword-piece Valan had dropped and used his free hand to send a jaw-shattering uppercut to the obviously inferior opponent. Valan shot into the air, passing most treetops in his ascent. He was now high enough that the lake with Excalibur was in clear view.

Then Allen was in front of him, the cloak smashing Valan into a taller tree behind him. Before gravity took a hold on him, a clawed hand pinned him to the tree.

Valan looked at his opponent, and his heart skipped a beat. The ghost was holding his sword, preparing to slam it into his body. "No, please don't!" he begged.

The look in Allen's eyes was absolutely void of emotion, as if he was not conscious. Then, without a moment's hesitation, he rammed the horizontally poised blade into Valan, shortly below the neck. For a short second that extended to an eternity, Allen and Valan simply gazed into each other's eyes, then Allen was gone, descending down to earth while Valan was nailed to the bark. He tried to pull the sword out, but it was impossible. It didn't budge an inch, and Valan felt his strength leave him. Then he noticed something else. The blade had pierced his body in the exact same location he'd stabbed Arthur, a lethal injury that would bleed him dry, but would take a good ten minutes until he finally lost consciousness. Until then, he'd be hanging here, too weak to free himself and out of range of any rescuers. Then he understood. He had heard Arthur mutter that their ways would damn them to hell, and now the devil had come to collect.

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When Allen landed, he dropped to his knees, clutching his face with his right hand. What had just happened? All he remembered was that bastard stabbing Arthur, then rage, followed by a strange calm. Everything else was just a blur. But right now he had more pressing worries.

Arthur was leaning on a tree, his breathing ragged. Allen ran to him. "Arthur, are you okay?" It was a dumb question, but Arthur managed a smile. "I'll... manage. Let's go, we're almost... there."

Allen looked worried. "Maybe you should rest."

Arthur shook his head. "I'll last... ten minutes at most. We have to... go now." With that, he dragged himself forward, eventually reaching the shoreline. When he looked around, his eyes widened. Allen gasped. "ROAD!"

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Cross had to chuckle when he heard his apprentice. First they dragged a barely conscious Noah to the altar, something that had been a small shock even for him, and now this. Of course Cross would have saved the girl anyways, a lady was a lady after all, no matter which side she fought on, but now it looked like he could relax. But first he brought a bit of distance between the altar and himself, just to be safe. He could still get a clear shot on the priest if things turned grim, but it was unlikely he'd be in the line of fire. Then Cross noticed the other boy with his apprentice. The boy was holding his chest, blood seeping out in between his fingers, but he stubbornly walked on and started to clime the collection of rocks that did a poor imitation of a path. As soon as he climbed the first rock, strong winds started to blow over the lake, nearly blowing the boy into the water.

Allen meanwhile dashed towards the altar where the old man had already raised the dagger. Normally a dagger would be no danger to a Noah, even if it struck the heart, but this one was imbedded with magic that was designed to sever the connection between body and soul, which led to the body's death. In other words, if the old man slammed the dagger into the girl's chest, she'd die. Then Allen's cloak separated from him, spreading over Road and throwing the old man into the sand. Another jumped towards the cloak, his fate was more grim. The cloak knocked him into the lake.

Allen and Cross were the only ones who could see what was happening. The moment his body had passed the shoreline, all spirits had grouped on the man, seemingly wanting to get revenge on at least one of the people who caused all the suffering, and literally tore his soul to shreds. In their infinite rage, they even did the impossible, as they managed to damage the physical body as well. Cross stared in morbid fascination, but Allen gave the screaming man hardly more than a quick glance before grabbing the girl, the clawed cloak having already cut the restraints.

Road curled up to his chest, and looked into his eyes. She looked feverish, and she seemed to be unable to speak loudly. Tears were running from her eyes. Allen, protected by his Innocence, leaned closer the her lips, and the words he heard shocked him. Road's whisper was still nearly impossible to hear, but Allen managed. "Allen, what should I do? I've done horrible things, and I don't know why. Help me." Then she fainted.

Allen stared. What was wrong with Road? Of course she did horrible things, with a sadistic passion he might add, but that was his opinion. For Road to say things like these, something wasn't right. Then he saw that Arthur was almost at the sword. He looked at _Crown Clown_. "You look after her. If something tries to get close to her that shouldn't, grind it into the dirt!"

The Innocence nodded and Allen dashed to the path. He had already understood that it was the only way to reach the island without being attacked, so he took it.

The winds were bad, pushing him backwards and throwing him around to all sides while soaking him with waves that nearly washed him off on multiple occasions, but Allen managed to reach Arthur just when the boy had reached the stone with the sword.

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Jesaia cursed profoundly. He was wielding two... _borrowed_ swords that he heated until the tips were glowing white, and manged to keep his opponents at bay with that. But he knew he only did that because he had not other choice, seeing as his arsenal was either designed for one-on-one or wide-area-effect, which in this situation would only endanger his comrades.

Lavi was swinging his hammer like crazy, but he was facing the same problems as Jesaia, added with the fact that the enemies simply didn't give him the time he needed to use any high-powered skills.

At first they had hoped that Val could simply put them down, but they weren't completely stupid, seeing as they had sealed their ears with something. She was having the most trouble, as she just wasn't a close-range fighter and four men attacked her whenever she tried to put the flute to her lips.

Link was using the blades in his sleeves additionally to the talismans to draw blood and gain some air, but with moderate success, seeing as he was outnumbered.

Lenalee used he boots to the best of her abilities, but this time they wouldn't let her leave the ground, so even though her kicks sent her enemies flying, she was also taking a few hits.

Even Kanda was slowly forced backwards, despite the fact that he effortlessly moved down all who dared approach him with his _Mugen_. But all in all, there wasn't a single one amongst them that didn't have multiple cuts.

At least the waxed ears of their enemies allowed the exorcists to somewhat coordinate their force, so that they were backing away towards each other instead of being herded apart. With a single jump, they stood in a close circle, the enemies deciding to give them a short breather,which only lead them to understand the hopelessness of their situation even more.

Lavi sighed. "There's no way out of this!"

Kanda nodded. "Che, the Usagi unfortunately has a point. We're stronger, but eventually we'll just be overrun."

Jesaia nodded grimly. "This is just ridiculous, how do we fight an army?"

Suddenly, Val's face lightened. "Why, with an army of course."

Lavi frowned. "Sorry, it seems I forgot mine at home, you wouldn't happen to have yours in your pocket, would you?" He said sarcastically.

Val glanced around. "This is the cemetery, right?"

Link nodded. "According to the information we got from that boy, yes. Why?"

Val shook he head. "No time to explain. I can get us out of here, but I'll need at least ten seconds to prepare."

"In that case," Jesaia spoke as he tossed both swords into the air, clapped his hands and created a fire-circle shortly before the attackers "Get going, we'll cover you. Ten seconds, maybe twenty, that's all we can guarantee."

Val nodded. "And that's all I'll need." She grabbed her flute as the first villagers jumped through the flames. "_Innocence Level 3 activate: Melody of Blasphemy: Postmortem of Hel: March of the Dead_" The melody that she played sent cold shivers down the spines of all who heard it. Ten hard-fought seconds later, she stopped.

"What did you do?" Jesaia asked.

Val gave him a brilliant smile. "I called for help." Suddenly the earth began to shake, which strangely made Val's smile widen, before she started something that sounded like a prophesy or incantation. "The earth rumbles, opening to spit out what should not dwell within this realm. They know no fatigue, they know no distraction, and they know no mercy. Abandon all hopes, for they have arrived."

The ground opened, and hell broke loose.

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Arthur was breathing heavily, seemingly gathering his last strength. Allen showed up beside him. "Arthur, don't push yourself so hard! You'll die!"

Arthur smiled weakly. "I'll die anyway, but this way it won't be in vain." He climbed on the stone and grabbed the sword, using it to pull himself into a standing position.

Allen bit his lip, he could clearly see that Arthur was using the sword as a crutch and he had no idea where the boy would take the strength to pull it out.

But that's what Arthur did. Slowly, the sword glide out of the stone. When the tip left the stone scabbard, multiple things happened.

A golden shock-wave crumbled the stone, then spread through the lake, all trapped souls shivering in happiness.

The high-priest screaming as the sacrificial-dagger simply shattered, its duty fulfilled.

High in the trees, Valan breathed his last breath, cursing the gods that they only allowed him to die after witnessing what he had tried to stop his entire life.

And suddenly, images appeared in Arthur's head.

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Arthur saw a boy pulling Excalibur out of a stone, much like he had done. He saw that boy rise to become a legendary king. He saw that king, smiling as he was holding an infant. But then the picture changed. He saw that infant, now a teenager, arguing with his father. Suddenly he heard voices.

"_Father, why? Our people are struggling just to survive, the harvest was not good. This is not the time to raise taxes! Already children are hungering, they will starve if you do that! Father, please, rethink your actions."_

_The king's face was passive. "It was discussed at the Round Table, and you and Lancelot were the only ones that objected. My decision stands Mordred, now begone if you have nothing else to say."_

_Mordred's face twisted. "Father, your condemning our people to death! As a Knight of the Round Table, it is my duty to protect our people," He drew his sword and pointed it at his King "even if that means that I must bare my blade against my king, against my _father_."_

"_Very well." Arthur jumped up, grabbed Excalibur and dashed towards his son. He aimed for the shoulder, intending to cut off Mordred's arm. Merlin would be able to heal him, but he would no longer be able to serve as a knight._

_There was a clang of steel meeting steel. Mordred had raised his sword to deflect the strike, and he succeeded. Arthur's eyes widened in shock, before he caught himself. "Begone Sir Mordred, I currently lack the patience to deal with you."_

_Mordred knew that he was the only one that saw Arthur's eyes widen. The other believed it had simply been a warning, after all, Excalibur cuts through all, unless its master doesn't want it to. He ground his teeth, but teeth, but that his father had called him Sir Mordred meant that it was a order of the king. He bowed his head. "As your _Majesty_ commands." He stated bitterly, before turning and swiftly leaving the throne-room._

Arthur saw the king sitting together with an old man, arguing.

"_Merlin, how could Mordred block Excalibur? It's impossible!"_

_Merlin stroke his beard. "I have only one explanation Arthur. In your hands, Excalibur cut all. In someone else's hands, it was a sword, no different from any other blade. It chose you when you pulled it out of the stone."_

_Arthur growled. "I know. But what does that explain?"_

_Merlin looked at him. "Everything. Excalibur has chosen a new master, therefore it is merely a sword in your hands."_

_Arthur's face reddened. "NONESENSE! EXCALIBUR IS MINE, NO ONE ELSE'S!"_

Arthur's view shifted again. He saw he was now close by the lake, at its shores even. He saw two men, locked in mortal combat. One was Mordred, the other wielded Excalibur.

_Mordred bit his lip. "Father, I beg of you, cease this madness!"_

_Arthur's aged face was a grimace of rage. "Silence! You will not take it from me Mordred! Not my kingdom, and certainly not my blade!"_

"_But I want neither your kingdom nor your sword father! All I wish is that you return to your senses and become the wise king you were before." Mordred pleaded. It was obvious that in terms of sheer skill, he was superior to his aged father, but he didn't want to hurt him._

_Arthur grimaced. "Lies!"_

_Mordred winced. "Is there truly no other way? Must it end like this?" He received no answer. "Very well then, you leave me no choice, father."_

_The tides turned to Mordred's favor, but the man still hesitated to deal the final blow. A costly mistake. In a moment's hesitation, Mordred froze. His father used that instant to stab his sword into Mordred's chest. In a reflex, Mordred did the same. For a few seconds, neither moved, just stared at each other, Mordred's eyes filled with sadness, Arthur's with rage. Then Mordred opened his mouth, blood flowing out of it "Father." Then he fell._

_Arthur stared at his fallen enemy, and slowly, the rage left him. Tears rolled down his eyes. "Mordred? Mordred, my child. My beautiful child, my son. What have I done?"_

_He staggered away, climbing the rocks that led to the island in the center, ignoring the blood pooling from his own chest. He reached the island, climbed to the highest rock and rammed his sword into it. "Stay within the rock Excalibur, and sleep! Too great is your power, too easily is one corrupted by it! Sleep here, until one worthier than me, who will not fall to the temptation awakens you to defend all that is good in this world!" He shouted, before climbing down, back to where his son was. He shut Mordred's eyes, layed down beside him, and closed his own eyes as well._

_Two observers came out of the woods, saddened expressions on their faces. Lancelot spoke first. "Here lie Arthur and Mordred Pendragon, honorable warriors, brave men, true heroes. May they rest in peace." He turned away._

"_And what will you do now?" Merlin asked._

_Lancelot shrugged. "Perhaps I will become a monk, I have seen enough blood in my life."_

_Merlin nodded. "A wise decision of a wise man."_

_Lancelot shook his head. "Of a weary man. I am tired Merlin. I'm much younger than you, but I'm so tired of it all."_

_Merlin looked at him. "Wisdom and weariness are not bound to age. And I feel the same. Good luck on all your paths."_

"_And to you." With that, he left._

_Merlin turned to the stone. "On you I engrave magic so that the great king's words be more than flowery speech."_

Arthur blinked. Was this the true history of Excalibur? If so, why was he worthy? And where was he now? It was definitely not the lake. It was... a throne-room?

And what a grand one. The walls were made of marble, with engravings everywhere. There were two banners of red satin, showing a one-horned lion with wings on its hind-legs, holding a short pole-ax in one hand, a shield with a winged A in the other. But the most impressive thing was the throne.

It looked to be made of solid gold, and it practically screamed power. That image was strengthened by the four gold lion-men that flanked the throne, yet were also part of the throne. They looked like the lions from the banner, only the statues were wielding swords.

No, the most impressive thing was the woman standing next to the throne. She was wearing a golden dress, her brownish hair reaching her lower back. She was looking at him, her eyes were filled with authority, strength and... love? She smiled at him.

"You have returned, for how short it may be."

Arthur gulped. "Who are you Milady?" he asked.

She smiled. "So, your memories haven't returned yet."

Arthur looked at her. "Is that your throne?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not. I take care of things for now, but it's not my throne."

Arthur looked at the throne. "Whose throne is it?"

She smiled. "It's the throne of the true king."

Arthur realized this was leading him nowhere. "Does the A stand for Arthur? Is he the true king?"

The woman shook her head again. "No, Arthur realized that he was weak to the temptation of power, so he never made his bid for this throne. And the A stands for Avalon."

Arthur's eyes widened. Avalon?! "Are you Queen Guinevere?"

She shook her head again. "No, she doesn't reside in Avalon, not yet anyway. But she will soon arrive."

Arthur tried to straiten his thoughts. "Where is the king?"

The woman smiled. "The best leaders are those who only reluctantly pick up the mantle of leadership and are shocked that it fits them well. Our king does not want to be a ruler, as he feels unworthy of such a grand task. Therefore, he reincarnated himself into your world, and will live a mortal life before he returns here once more, this time hopefully more enthusiastic. But I already know, he won't be a king in that life either. I guess a knight was really all he wanted to be." She chuckled.

Arthur looked at her. "Are you his queen?"

She chuckled again. "I'm his mother."

Arthur blushed. "O-Oh. I-I'm sorry, you just looked so young, I-I just thought..."

She laughed out loud. "Why thank you."

Arthur tried to get it together. "Anyways, I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Arthur."

The woman looked at him. "No, it's not."

Arthur blinked. "What?"

The woman looked up. "It seems that you have to go soon. My name is Morgan le Fey."

Arthur's eyes widened. "You're Morgan le Fey? Then the true king is Mordred?" Even while he spoke, Arthur felt himself fading away.

She smiled. "Yes, Mordred is the king of Avalon. And before you leave..." She walked to him, hugged him and kissed him on the forehead. "Come back soon, I miss you."

Arthur was baffled. "Wha...but...I...why?"

Morgan poked him on the nose. "Have fun Mordred."

Then the room was gone, or was it him that vanished?

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Meanwhile with the exorcists, the tides had turned in a disturbing way. The small army that had intended to capture and kill was now desperately fighting for their lives, against an enemy straight out of nightmares: The Dead.

The ground had broken open, and masses of bones had streamed out like blood from a cut. Most of the dead were mere skeletons, but there were a few that seemed recently buried, or worse, only halfway rotted. Then, when the villagers thought it couldn't get any worse, the men they had nailed to the trees as a warning appeared out of the forest.

The exorcists watched in morbid fascination, their enemies suddenly way to busy to bother about them. Kanda smirked. "Interesting."

Val hummed a melody to herself, then she sang out loud.

"Hass und Furcht, habt ihr gesät,

Ein wahres Meisterstück.

Für Reue ist es längst zu spät,

Die Totenwelt, sie schlägt zurück.

Hört ihr was uns rasend macht?

Das ist die Melodie der Schlacht.

Sie singt in unsern Klingen, pfeift im Wind um uns her.

Für euch bedeutet's Leid und Schmerz.

Nicht weniger, nicht mehr."

Lavi stared at the skeletons. "They're dead!" he stated.

Val nodded. "Yes, the dead make wonderful soldiers. They don't need supplies, they never complain," She saw one of the villagers hacking of a skeleton's arm, only for it to attack with the other one while the removed arm started to climb its owner "and they don't stop fighting if they loose a limb or two."

Lavi blinked. "But only god has the right to rule over the deceased."

Val smirked. "Guess why it's called the _Melody of __Blasphemy_."

Lenalee looked at her. "Still, I don't think that you gave them a good order."

Even Jesaia nodded. "I don't know, 'Leave no one alive' sounds a little drastic."

Val rolled her eyes. "Fine." She looked at the dead. "Spare the children, the pregnant," she glanced at the others "and all who surrender!" she turned to her comrades. "Happy?"

Jesaia shrugged. "Not really, but better them than us."

"My thoughts exactly." Lavi added.

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Arthur awoke, standing tall, Excalibur in hands. He felt a surge of power from the blade, and did something he wanted to do for a while now. He raised his sword in a stab-position, the hilt right next to his head, and thrust it forwards. A blue shock-wave shaped like a beam shot in the direction of the thrust, disappearing in the foliage.

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Inside of the forest, a hidden observer's eyes widened as he saw the blue spear shooting towards him. With a shout of "OH FUCK!", he jumped backwards and started to dash sideways to avoid it. He almost managed, as the last digit of his pinky was caught in the wave and immediately turned black, as if it had died off. The figure hollered in pain.

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Arthur turned towards Allen. "There was... someone tailing us. He's gone... now." Then he bowed before Allen, and used all his strength to get his words out clearly. "I hereby pledge my loyalty to thee. I am thine to command, I am thy sword that strikes down all who stand in the way of thy path. Wield me as thy blade." He offered Allen Excalibur, holding the blade in a way that its tip was hovering an inch before his throat while the hilt pointed towards Allen.

With his left hand, Allen grabbed the sword. There was a pulse from his arm, and the blue light turned to a pure white. Allen was surprised at how easy it was, as if the sword wished for the change and welcomed the power Allen was sending into it. Allen raised the sword straight into the air, then he slashed the air to his left as the tip of the blade traveled to the earth. One inch above the ground, the blade stopped. However, a cut appeared on the rocks in front of the tip, cutting the entire island as well as the water of the lake. To Allen's amazement, the waters didn't immediately flow back together, but instead stayed split, as if the water hadn't realized it was cut.

'Is this how Moses felt when the seas parted before him?' Allen wondered. Then he raised the legendary sword again, the waters now flowing back together, and used the side of the blade to tap both of Arthur's shoulders. "You may rise."

Arthur rose and accepted the sword. Allen nodded. "Your first order is simple, destroy the altar." Now that the stone and the dagger were gone, Allen could see the spirits were bound by two chains, one leading to the altar, the other one led to the old priest's chest.

"Yes, my lord." Arthur grabbed the sword with both hands and raised it over his head. Then he gave a single slash, that shot towards the altar. Around the altar, runes appeared and formed a barrier, but to the slash, nothing seemed to exist. It split both the altar and the magic that had tried to protect it in half. A second later, the altar exploded, while Arthur collapsed against Allen, blood flowing from his mouth. He looked at Allen. "Allen, was I... useful?"

Allen looked at him. He shook his head. "No Arthur." Arthur looked heartbroken, but Allen wasn't done. "Tools are useful. You... were fantastic."

Arthur smiled. "Thank you. I... only wish, I could have... served... you longer."

Allen's eyes widened. "Arthur, that's it! I hereby offer you a second chance at life, a chance to be my companion. But in return, you will loose your humanity, and enter a ancient war were the number of sides is not as certain as one may believe."

Arthur looked into Allen's eyes, then he smiled. "I am... your sword. Forge me... as you please."

Allen took his hands and focused. The stigmata appeared on Arthur's forehead as usual, but then things got unusual.

Arthur was lifted into the air, as if a invisible entity carried him in his arms. The wound in his chest began to heal, and even the blood vanished. Then the lake began to glow and a dust-like substance rose from it and shot towards Arthur.

Allen noticed the same stuff was coming out of the old priest, and he saw more of it appearing from the forest, and understood. This was the energy of the Innocence that had remained in the lake and strengthened the villagers. Now it was returning to its master.

Arthur felt strange. Suddenly, a flash of images entered his mind, and he understood. He _remembered_.

The stigmata suddenly turned white, and Arthur's clothes changed. Instead of the dirty garb, he was now wearing a golden armor (Imagine Gilgamesh with his hair down from Fate/Stay Night with blue eyes and a white stigmata on his forehead). Then he floated to the ground, landing in a kneeing position, sword stabbed into the ground and both hands on the end of the hilt.

The old priest went mad with rage. "Arthur? YOU! YOU DON'T DESERVE EXCALIBUR, RETURN IT AT ONCE! ARTHUR!"

The armored boy looked up, and spoke, with a previously unknown authority. "Arthur is dead. He was slain from behind by his brother. I... am Mordred of the Fallen." Then he lost consciousness.

Allen smiled. "Rest, you deserve it." He turned to the priest. "As for you...", Allen jumped, using his power to freeze the water beneath him. The ghosts had seemingly lost interest in him, they instead tried to attack the priest, but something drove them away. Then Allen stood before him, looking down at the small husk of a man.

The man snorted. "What can you do? I am protected by ancient magic, and even old, I am more than a match for you." He swung his cane at Allen's head. Allen saw the strike coming, raised his right arm, caught the cane and broke it like a twig The man gaped. "How? That cane was carved from a tree fed by the lake! And it should have broken your arm!"

Allen smirked, his left eye turning black. "It seems that A... Mordred took back what his sword had given when he awakened. In other words, your swords are now normal pieces of metal, your wood is normal wood, and your village consists of normal people. You are nothing more than an old man with a deeply twisted soul. For all the women you murdered and whose souls are still bound by you, and to keep you from murdering more as you're planning, I'll have to end you. Such is my duty to the world as Compassion."

The old man sneered. "What do you know of our noble duty?!"

Allen looked at him. "That it's over. And it was never noble."

"How dare you?!" Then a snort. "Do you really think you can harm me? I am protected by magic you cannot even begin to comprehend!"

Allen's hand shot forward, grabbing the man's necklace. Runes glowed up, forcing his fingers open. Allen frowned, and focused his power. "If that magic stands between me and what must be done, then I hereby crush it!" With that, his hand formed a fist, and both runes and necklace shattered like glass, before turning to dust. Allen looked at his hand, which was smoking as if it had been burned.

He turned on his heels. "It is done. For your crimes, your victims will lay down your punishment. The rest," he muttered as he walked to Mordred, ignoring the screaming of the old man who was torn apart by angry spirits "is history."

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Lavi blinked. "What just happened?" he asked.

Jesaia scratched his head. "Well, suddenly a silvery dust left the bodies of the villagers and vanished. As soon as it was gone, they began to fall like flies before the corpses and quickly surrendered."

Lavi nodded. "I know. My question was more focused on what that dust was and why they lost all strength when it was gone."

Link scratched his head. "If I had to guess, I'd say they somehow lost what the Innocence gave them."

Val scratched her cheek. "But what could have the power to take it away? Except maybe what gave it to them."

Everyone's eyes widened. "We're heading for the sword, NOW!" Link shouted. He was not about to fail this!

Val gave a last order to the dead "No villager leaves this clearing until I say so! If they need to use the bathroom, tough luck!" and dashed off with the others.

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Allen shook Mordred's shoulder. The boy blinked, looked at him, and was suddenly on his feet, standing attention. Allen smiled. "Relax Mordred. From your words earlier I'm guessing you'll join me, right?"

Mordred nodded. "I gave my vow, and that I will not change."

Allen smiled sadly. "Thank you. I'm giving you the same mission I secretly gave Luciano. You will watch my back."

Mordred nodded. "Of course. But why make it a secret? It's a valid order."

Allen shook his head. "I wasn't done. You see, there have been moments I did things I'd normally never do, and recently I'm having trouble remembering them. When I nailed the one who stabbed you to the tree, I didn't remember I did that until I looked up. The Noah fight on the side of the Millennium Earl, who wishes to exterminate mankind. Before I awakened as a Noah, I was fighting against the Earl. Now, I'm afraid of what I might become. Therefore, my order is simple: Watch my back. Because watching my back also means you can stab me in the back. Should I become a monster, that's what I ask of you. Do you accept this request of mine?"

Mordred looked at him. This boy had just ordered him to kill him should he turn into something that stood against his own, noble ideas. Truly, he could not have chosen a worthier lord. "As you command."

Allen looked at him. "You sound different somehow."

Mordred smiled. "I remembered my past life. I am Mordred, son of Arthur and Morgan le Fey" 'and ruler of Avalon.' he mentally added.

Allen shrugged. "At this point, nothing surprises me."

Suddenly, a man with red hair appeared. He was clapping. Mordred drew his sword, but Allen raised a hand, signaling it was okay. "It's just my stupid master." Catching Mordred's raised brows, Allen sighed. "You can say he trained me to fight Akuma. Most of the time, he just threw me to the wolves, sometimes literally, while he was off drinking. For now, he's okay, but if he pulls out anything that even looks like it has something to do with debts, strike him down."

Mordred's lip twitched, but he remained impassive otherwise. However, he held his word ready, prepared to kill the man if he twitched the wrong way.

Cross shook his head. "Stupid apprentice. I put so much energy into teaching you to fight, and then you run off to the enemy. Such a pain in the ass."

Allen frowned. "Most of your energy was put into women while I did the dirty fobs to pay for it all, stupid master. And you already knew about the Fourteenth, didn't you?"

Cross raised his visible brow. "What makes you say that?"

Allen snorted. "While Levrier may be an asshole and not that competent, he did have a point. Your timing on that night was a little too convenient. You appeared right after I killed Mana's Akuma."

Cross smiled. "Who knows? But there is one thing I wonder Allen. Why are you Allen?"

"Is that some sort of philosophical question?"

Cross shook his head. "I was just wondering, did your parents give you that name?"

Allen shook his head. "No, Mana gave me that name."

Cross's gaze turned dim, and Allen knew his thoughts were elsewhere. "It seems that his mind really was starting to slip."

Suddenly, Allen heard the Musician's voice. _**"So it seems. Of all the names, he gave you that one."**_

Allen's old worries resurfaced. Had Mana really only thought of him as his brother's reincarnation? 'Why? Was your name Allen?'

The musician laughed. _**"Oh no, our mother seemed to be psychic, as she gave us names that fitted what we'd eventually do. It's just... maybe another time. But I can assure you that Mana didn't love you because he thought you were my reincarnation, he never believed that, as your name proves."**_

Allen wanted to ask, but he knew the Musician well enough to tell that if the man didn't want to tell you about something, he didn't. He turned his focus back to Cross.

Suddenly, they noticed that while the spirits of the women had moved on, a single spirit remained. It was a beautiful woman wearing a old, expensive dress. She smiled. _"Thank you. The ceremony to become a Lady of the Lake was made for me by Merlin. I wished to protect Arthur's wish and Mordred's sacrifice. Originally, this ceremony was built on self-sacrifice, not sacrificing others. However, a woman who was urged to do what was then considered an honor feared death, and sacrificed a old wandering woman instead. It was then the villagers decided they'd rather sacrifice others than themselves. But the spirits who were forced didn't want to serve, which was why other mages created the altar and the amulet, things that never should have existed. But thanks to you, who destroyed them all, the poor spirits are now free, and knowing that Excalibur is in good hands, I can rest as well."_

Allen bowed. "Helping the spirits is my mission in life. To destroy what tortures those who should rest in peace is why I was given my left arm. But before you go, can you tell me your name?"

Mordred spoke. "This is the spirit of Queen Guinevere."

The ghost smiled. _"Indeed Mordred, I see you remember me."_

Mordred bowed. "A knight never forgets those he served."

Guinevere smiled again. _"Good. Protect your master Mordred, for his tasks are grand and a helping hand is never wrong." _With that, she faded away.

"Now what?" Allen asked.

Cross looked at him. "Now you take your buddy and your girlfriend and make a run for it before some exorcists show up and I'll be forced to kill you."

Allen nodded, motioned to his Innocence which had been guarding Road like a sheepdog, glanced at Mordred, then they headed for the trees.

Cross gave them a head-start, then he pulled out _Judgment _and fired. As he had expected, _Crown Clown_ blocked all shots, but to the exorcists who just arrived, it looked like Cross, who had started to gasp as if he was out of breath, was trying to stop the Noah from escaping. He looked at the exorcists.

"They got away, with the sword! And they have the one that wields it!"

Shocked faces stared at him, a single person hiding a smirk. Link turned towards Lenalee. "Exorcist Lee, you're the only one fast enough to catch up, go get that sword!"

Cross shook his head. "Alone against an unknown number of Noah? That's suicide. And I think the sword has already been changed, so it wouldn't be of any use against the Noah anyway. All we can do is return to the Order."

Link ground his teeth. "Dammit." he muttered.

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Meanwhile, a different figure held his arm in pain, which had died off and blackened almost all the way up to the elbow. A second figure, a girl, shook her head. "I told you that was a bad idea, and look where it got you."

The first figure, a boy, cursed. "Shut up! Who could've guessed that the sword would be this powerful?!"

The girl raised a brow. "Um, let me think. _Everybody?_ It was called the purest Innocence in existence, and considering what normal Innocence does to Noah and that we react much worse to it, seeing that it was designed as a weapon against us, you'd have to be brain-dead to go near it. Anyways, what about your arm?"

The figure winced. "It's still spreading, and it kills off my soul too. You have to cut off my arm, or I'll perish!"

"At the elbow?" The girl asked.

The boy shook his head. "I can feel it halfway up my upper arm, it just didn't die off there yet. Cut it off at the shoulder, all else will be a waste of time."

The girl looked at him. "Are you sure?"

"JUST CUT MY FUCKING ARM OFF!" the boy shouted.

The girl looked at him, moved, and the severed limb fell to the floor while the former owner screamed in pain.

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Allen looked at the sight before him. "What is this?" he asked.

Mordred shrugged. "These things fell out of the sky or just lay on the ground. They don't do anything, and we have no use for them, so the villagers just piled them here. Why, do you know what they are?"

Allen nodded. "Yes, these are Akuma, the weapons of the Earl, powered by a human soul."

He looked around and gave a pile of Akuma a kick, then he spotted something. "Mordred, can you get me that white one?"

Mordred grabbed it. "This one with the star on the stomach?"

Allen nodded. "Yes. Are there any more like these?"

Mordred looked at it. "White with a star on the stomach and the forehead? Nope, that's the only one like that."

Allen looked at him. "Then destroy the others. I have something I want to do with this one."

Mordred shrugged, and with a single swing from Excalibur the Akuma exploded.

Allen grabbed the Level 4 and changed it. When the transformation was complete, a teenager with long hair and green irises was kneeling in front of him. Allen looked at it. "Do you have a name?"

The Level 5 shook his head. "None that I can recall."

"What is your ability?" Allen asked.

The Level 5 bowed. "My power is _Absolute Law_. It allows me to summon my territory where I lay down rules and laws that must be followed. I can force people to act in a certain way, like _'There will be no lying'_, and I can lay down laws of nature and physics that override the existing ones."

Allen nodded. "Then from now on, you are Metatron, one of my Archangels."

"As you wish."

Allen looked at Mordred. "Lets find the others and get out of here."

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Tyki bit his lip. The fight had been hard and he had considered going full power, despite the fact that he couldn't control it yet, but a weird turn of events had taken care of the problem. Sparkling dust rose from the men and their weapons, and suddenly Tyki could easily phase through it all again while their foes lost all strength. Needless to say, the battle had practically been over at that point. But the Noah were slowly getting worried. Before the scales had tipped completely in their favor, they had actually let a few younger ones escape. It wasn't that they couldn't have caught them, they had, even if unconsciously, _spared_ them!

But a more important thought had been going through their heads then the sudden surges of humanity going through them, namely Road. Tyki prayed they weren't too late. Road had been severely weakened, scratch that, she was barely conscious. Then Tyki heard the rustling of leaves and immediately summoned two big Tease, while Jasdevi pointed their guns at the foilage. Lulubelle simply turned her hand into a blade.

To their immense relief, Allen stepped out of the bushes, carrying Road bridal. "Thank heaven." Tyki sighed. Then he rose a brow at the golden-armored Mordred and the new Level 5. "Do I want to know?"

Allen shrugged. "Probably not. Not much to say, found a Level 4, I guess it crashed or something, and turned it. As for him, meet Mordred, newest member of the Fallen and wielder of the now Noah-safe Excalibur."

Tyki nodded. "That answers most questions, but maybe I should carry Road. Cyril might kill you."

Allen nodded and handed him Road. "Here, take her. She's looking much better, she'll probably be fine by the time we're back. And since we're currently on the topic, let's go home, I am so sick of this forest."

"Seconded." Tyki, Luciano, Jasdevi, Mordred and even Lulebelle said at the same time.

Allen grinned. "Since we all agree, let's go back. Back to Noah's Arc."

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Meanwhile at the Arc, the Earl grinned. "Finally, it works. Now to test it."

________________________________________________________________________________

And chapter 21 is in the bag! Thank you thank you, far too kind. Again, this is not the norma chapter length, I just wanted to finish the Excalibur-arc. Anyways: FINALLY! OVER 100.000 WORDS FOR THIS STORY! HOORAY FOR ME!

But seriously, this took longer than I thought it would, but I'm also having some problems with my schedule right now, so I'm not sure when my next update will come. As for how long the story will go on, I'm not sure. Probably somewhere between 5-20 more chapters till I'm done, that's all I can say right now.

I revealed some stuff here. Yes, I always planned to have Arthur/Mordred get Excalibur, and that he'd become a Deminoah, why else would I let him meet Allen instead of Lenalee otherwise? And kudos for MysticalKingofthePotatoPeople for guessing everything correctly.

For once, the exorcists and Noah didn't meet, let's face it, they were way too busy with the locals to be bothered with each other.

Abot Val's power: Hel is the Norse goddess of the underworld who gathers all that have not died in battle, gathering an army against Odin for Ragnarok, the day where all ends. And let's face it, in that village, nobody died in battle in a long, _long_ time. That ability is not resurrection, it's more like necromancy. It doesn't restore life, it controls the dead. She didn't gain this power until she became a Deminoah.

My new Noah will probably appear in one of the next few chapters, I want to do something different first.

If someone wants to know what Excalibur looks like, follow this link: .com/art/Durandal-127086382

As for the scene with the throne, while I was looking for a suitable picture for a sword, I stumbled upon this, and it fascinated me. It just seemed to fit. So this is what the throne and Morgan look like: .com/art/Anima-Queen-Elisabetta-46260162

And what Val hummed was from a song by Jan Hegenberg, called "Die Allianz schlägt zurück", though I changed a little. It rougly translates to: _Hatred and fear you've sown, a true masterpiece. For regrets it's now too late, the underworld strikes back. Do you hear what drives us into a rage? It's the melody of the battle. It sings in our blades, whistles in the wind around us. For you it means suffering and pain. Nothing less, nothing more._

Now onto the questions.

1. How do you like Val's new power? How am I doing at creating powers?

2. Someone was watching Allen, and he didn't like Innocence. Yes, this will be very important later on. So, who could it be and why was he watching?

3. Arthur got Excalibur, and Allen got Arthur, and a new Archangel! How do you like the outcome? How do you like the Archangel and Mordred?

4. I gave the whole King-Arthur-story my own twist. How did I do?

5. I gave a few subtle hints about certain things in this chapter, people doing things they shouldn't be able to. Can anyone find them?

6. How did you like the song? Did it fit? Should I find more on (rare) occasions?

7. What is the Earl planning?

8. The usual. How did you like it, what can I do better, on a scale from 1 to 10, etc...?

9. Tell me whatever you want to.

To AnimePinkGirl: It wasn't Arthur that called him a ghost, it was his stupid father. But thanks for the review.

To AanimeLoverr29: First of all, I read all my reviews, why would I ask for them otherwise. Secondly, Val will remain in the Order for a while, it's too soon for her to turncoat. And Arthur being like Friedrich wouldn't be something that Allen's eye would miss. Regarding your PM, here's the chapter. I try to get everything done as soon as I can, but between school, private life and my other fics I really can't work on a schedule. The chapters get done when they do, and I learned that being in a hurry only drags the story down. I always try to update fast, but it just doesn't go faster than it goes. Thank you for your interest.

To MysticalKingofthePotatoPeople: First, congratulations for guessing correctly. Secondly, about Allen's sword. You're right of course, it was vital when he was an exorcist. But when he became a Noah, it was vital that he didn't have it, as the Earl would never allow him to even possess the ability to turn his soldiers into normal humans, so Allen had to be unable to use it. But don't worry, I do have something planned with it.

That's all folks, now

Please Review


	22. Ambush in the Ark

Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

* * *

Levrier was furious. The report he had received was not what he had been hoping for. Instead of gaining the purest Innocence that would allow the Order to truly destroy the Millennium Earl, the sent troops had been attack by the local population, that, strengthened by the Innocence's power, drove them back long enough for the Noah to waltz in and take not only the Innocence, but the wielder as well. By now, both Innocence and user would be in Allen Walker's service. Allen Walker. That name alone made Levrier's blood boil. That boy had within a few weeks destroyed everything Levrier had worked years to build up, and did so with a smile.

First of all, in that embarrassing operation to eliminate the boy, the reputation of his most feared unit CROW, that gained respect second only to the actual exorcists, had been dragged strait through the dirt. The higher-ups knew about the planned assassination, and it's grand failure. Then the boy appeared on the enemy's side, happily chatting like nothing happened, while converting a potential exorcist with a powerful ability that would have been a valuable ally to the enemy's side. Then he ruined a once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity to exterminate Tyki Mikk, while killing Friedrich and somehow breaking the mental conditioning on Valkyrie Nocturn, which had taken Levrier and his men years to properly set in, and now he had robbed the Order of the tool that would have given them the power to smash the Earl and his soldiers. And all of that was being blamed on him, shoving responsibility to others and cover-ups could only do so much, after all. All in all, things were going downhill, especially considering that their newest exorcist and perhaps only way to find the enemy's weaknesses liked Valkyrie more than him, and given her new personality and foul mouth, that was saying something.

Still, Dagmar's abilities were great, and since she had shown that she could look into other minds and actually read the memories, she'd be irreplaceable when gathering data on the Noah and their weaknesses. Perhaps she could help solve the Walker-problem, although Levrier would wait for a more suitable time for that. One thing he had learned about Allen Walker, the boy ruined all plans that relied on chance, and if something wasn't planned into the last detail, it would fail if he was involved. Currently Levrier was busy strengthening the Order, while they were moving more and more of the Order into the ark, where they would be safe from opening gates that let hordes of Akuma in, as they had found out it was impossible to open a gate that lead into the ark, unless you were _in_ the ark and sent the gateway to somewhere outside of the ark. Basically, ark - somewhere else worked, while ark - some other place inside of the ark failed. You just couldn't open a portal that led to the ark, even the portable gate-generators merely sent a signal to the ark to open a portal at their location. Which was good, since it meant that once the entire Order was stationed at the ark, with mere outposts all over the world, things would speed up incredibly, allowing them to be more efficient than ever before. Still, one day, he would get rid of Allen Walker, personally if need be.

* * *

A small shudder ran down Allen's spine, but he dismissed it. He was far too worried about what the Earl was up to. The Earl had merely smiled, given Mordred a pat on the back, saying a short "Well done everyone." and left, in a giddy mood that gave all Noah a strangely uncomfortable feeling.

Still, so far, nothing bad had happened to him and the others, although Allen knew better than to jinx it. He was currently watching over the still-sleeping Road with Tyki, Lulubelle introducing Mordred to the Noah he didn't know yet, namely Cyril and Alice. Jasdevi was somewhere in the new arc, strolling around and probably breaking stuff. Luciano was in one of the training-rooms, trying to completely master his Innocence, he was at over 98% as Allen's Innocence had revealed, but he was getting close, and Allen wondered if Hevlaska would feel it if Luciano exceeded 100%. Not that he expected Luciano to reach the level of a General anytime soon, but reaching 100% without surpassing it was a solid possibility, and it gave the Innocence a shape-shift, at least his and Lenalee's had.

Allen's Archangels were currently welcoming their newest member, or more like linking up with him, as Allen noticed they seemed to build up mental connections with each other, Michael being the only current telepathic link to Allen, although they were working on how to change that. And Nevermore was in another room of the ark, probably sound asleep, as that bird always slept when Allen didn't need him, but he had a very good feeling of when he was needed and never failed to appear just in the nick of time, or to bring Allen some stuff he'd snatched god knows where.

Still, Allen had the feeling something horrible was about to happen. And he was right.

* * *

In the shadows, a group of strange people conversed. They were wearing purple clothing and their skin seemed rather dark, as if they had been born in a very sunny place. One man, the largest one and the only on with a Afro in the group, looked around. "We know where our targets are, and we all have our instructions. Any questions?"

Two raised their hands. "Why do you get to exterminate all the strong ones while the two of us have to kill a a damned bird?! And why two of us for one _bird_ when that guy gets four people for himself?!"

The leader looked at them. "Because our master doesn't know of its abilities and goes by the old saying: _Better safe than sorry._ That way, if the bird pulls out a trick that blindsides and kills one of you, the other one is warned and can kill the bird before it warns our targets. As for your second question, it was the master's decision, you are free to complain"

The two muttered, but remained silent. The leader nodded. "No more questions? Good, then let us prove our superiority to all others, especially the Noah."

All nodded solemnly.

* * *

Allen blinked. "Tyki, did you just feel that strange vibe?"

Tyki nodded. "Call me paranoid, but yes I did. Strange. I wonder what caused it. Maybe one of the Earl's new experiments, he was working on something that nearly tore the ark apart when he left."

Allen nodded. "That may be the case, but I still have a bad feeling about all of this."

Tyki shrugged. "Who can attack us in our own ark?"

If he only knew.

* * *

Luciano looked up from his training. He just got a really bad feeling, and his gut had never lead him wrong before. He decided not to completely exhaust himself, just in case.

* * *

In a single motion, all Archangels raised their heads. They had felt the bad vibe, and frowned. They exchanged looks and stood up, preparing themselves for anything that may happen tonight.

* * *

Mordred saw all Noah shudder slightly, as his own hand subconsciously moved closer to his sword. He looked around. "Am I correct in assuming that the ladies and the gentleman have also felt that?"

All three nodded. Alice spoke the thought that all Noah, Deminoah and Archangels had had. "What the fuck was that?"

Lulubelle frowned. "I don't know, but I don't like it."

Cyril seemed jumpy. "My father-senses are tingling. Something might happen to Road!"

He jumped up, only for Lulubelle to place a hand on his shoulder and push him back down. "She'll be fine, Tyki is there to protect her, and despite your hatred, Allen is not the type to take advantage of people. He's more the type people can easily take advantage of, as he's so annoyingly helpful. And if I'm wrong, I'll look the other way when you butcher him."

Cyril considered this, nodded and sat back down. If a single hair on Road's head was harmed, there'd be hell to to pay. But for now, it was only polite to focus on the young man that was standing before him. The blond-haired boy had a few things for and against him in Cyril's book.

The only thing that was really bad about the boy was that he apparently served Allen, which already cost him a few points. But if you overlooked that deficit, he was very sympathetic. He was friendly, polite and clever. He gave his actual opinion on topics, not merely speaking what the other one wanted to hear, something that Cyril liked, spending too much time with politics for his own taste. While his knowledge was limited, not surprising seeing how isolated he had grown up, he was intelligent and understood things immediately once properly explained. He seemed to have a basic respect for everyone, in he remained respectful until he evaluated how much respect his counterpart deserved and adjusted his behavior accordingly. All in all, Cyril liked the kid, especially since he had respect for women.

Cyril smiled. "So Mordred, according to your own words, you recall being THE Mordred, the son of king Arthur. While I find it rather unlikely, I'll buy it for now. Reincarnation is not that much harder to believe than using souls to power war-machines, after all. So tell me, how was the time back then?"

Mordred smiled and started to tell stories he remembered, serious ones, sad ones, funny ones, all these stories he told with great enthusiasm, gaining laughs from the Noah at the adequate times. Still, in the back of his mind, Mordred had the feeling something was horribly wrong.

* * *

A telepathic message rang through the minds of the hidden figures. _"Commence the operation."_

* * *

Cyril was right in the middle of lifting his glass to have a drink, when he froze and stared behind Mordred.

The blond Deminoah immediately jumped and spun, hand going for his blade, when a terrible blow to the side of the head hit him and sent him flying halfway through the wall, where he motionlessly remained.

The Noah stared at the man who had done that. He was wearing a horrible purple suit, had dark skin and snow-white hair. He wore in evil grin. "Well, one little piggy went to heaven, which of the remaining three little piggies will go next?"

Alice jumped at him, slamming both hands into his chest. Her eyes widened. "What?!"

The man staggered a bit, but when he looked up, his grin was even wider than before. "Aah, is the little piggy shocked that her magic fingers didn't do anything to little old me? Well, the little piggy has to understand that my kind cannot be altered by the likes of you, so Influence-type Noah are useless against me." He pulled his fist back. "Well, since this little piggy volunteered, I'll send her on her way next!" His fist came shooting towards Alice's face, so fast that she didn't have time to react in any way but brace for the doubtlessly bone-crushing impact.

But it never came. Cyril had jumped up and caught the fist in his hand. The man whistled. "Well, isn't that a strong little piggy we have here?" He asked.

Before he could do anything else, a serrated whip wrapped itself around his chest, before being pulled back, forcing the man into an involuntary rotation. He quickly caught himself, but it was too late.

The fist seemed to take his entire field of vision as it impacted with his face, driving the nose into the face as the man staggered back a good ten feet. He cursed. "Ouch, hat relly urt." He pulled his nose back out, ignoring the crunching sounds that accompanied the makeshift facelift. His smile turned feral. "It looks like I'll have to get serious. Run while you can little piggies, the big bad wolf is coming."

* * *

Jasdevi suddenly saw themselves attacked by a weird, tanned, skinny man. But just because he was skinny didn't mean he was weak. Far from it. Devitto had just crouched down to pick up a penny someone had dropped, when he felt a gust of air rush over his head, followed by a loud bang. He looked up and saw that human spaghetti, his arm up to the elbow in the wall. The twins had jumped back, while the spaghetti charged them again.

They had tried to pepper his with a few shots, but the enemy had simply slid out of the way, a infuriating grin on his face. "You're wasting your time, my special ability is flexibility, I can bend like a piece of rubber. You could shoot me for a thousand years and never score a hit, not that I'd let you."

With that, he literally flung himself at the twins, who parted before him like the red sea before Moses, letting him sail harmlessly through the gap they made before jumping back together. Then, while the attacker was pulling himself out of the wall, they pointed at him. "_Jasdevi's Hate!_"

The slimy golem of blood and corpses materialized right on top of the unknown assailant, making it harder for him to move. He managed to fight his head out of the heap that was moving with him to keep him trapped, and because it was mostly liquid, the assailant's brute strength did him no good. He looked up, to see the twins pointing their barrels at him. "Bend this, asshole. _Red Bomb!_" The twins had learned from their last encounter with Crowry that it was best not to shoot freezing bullets at their golem.

The fireball hit the attacker square in the face, and a hiss of pain was heard. But once the smoke had lifted, Jasdevi saw that the attacker had squeezed himself out of the golem like a overgrown worm. Jasdevi snared. "Can't you just die already?!"

The man sneered. "Enjoy the feeling of landing a hit, it won't happen again." He charged them, intending on squashing them like ants.

The twins shared a glance. "_The Earl from when he was laughing but really pissed!_" The man's charge was suddenly ended by the Fake Earl, who slammed a ball of energy into him. The man shot back, only to be caught in the corpse-golem once again.

He pulled his head in to avoid a decapitating swing, before looking at the twins. "You're better than I'd thought. It's time for me to get serious."

* * *

All four Archangels jumped back as four black-and-purple figures crashed into the places they had been before with the force of a falling meteorite. All moved into battle-stances, while the four attackers each turned to one of them, apparently intending for one-on-one battles. Then they sneered.

"We know better than to underestimate you trash, so we will go all-out from the start."

* * *

Luciano looked up. "I know you're here. I don't know where, but I know you're here, so come out!" Seeing that there was no reaction, Luciano spun in a circle, making his scythe form a gray mist around him, before releasing that mist, making it spread all throughout the the room. There was a flicker, then a muscular man appeared, his entire body smoking.

The man hissed. "Ah that hurt. I hate Innocence. But you have good instincts, to sense me even though I used my ability to perfectly blend into my surroundings. Still, seeing that you have Innocence, I won't underestimate you."

* * *

Allen and Tyki were playing a card-game, Allen wiping the floor with Tyki, when suddenly _Crown Clown_ activated, draping itself around Allen and blocking a blow from behind.

"You survived. But let's see you do it again!" The man shouted while lunging at Allen.

Said boy dodged and looked at Tyki, who had just tried to pump the opponent with Tease, only to find that once again, he was facing an enemy he couldn't phase through. He cursed.

The man laughed. "My kind is immune to your petty tricks, we can't be Influenced."

Allen's eyes narrowed, that meant his power wouldn't work on this guy either. "Tyki, get Road out of here, I'll buy you some time."

Tyki nodded, picked Road up bridal-style and ran out of the room, the man making no attempt to stop him. Allen glared at him. "Who are you?"

The figure grinned. "There's no need for a dead man to know me."

Allen's eyes narrowed. "If you want me dead, did you let the others escape because you don't care about them?"

The man grinned. "No, I let them go because I'm not alone."

Allen's eyes widened and he spun around, but the man had moved first, blocking his path while forcing him back with a kick to the gut, which Allen's cape deflected. Allen's skin turned gray raised his clawed left hand, and the man's eyes narrowed.

"Very well, let us fight in our true forms."

* * *

All across the ark, the tanned figures transformed. Their skin turned pitch-black, while their purple clothing melted away, turning into demonic wings of the same color.

* * *

Cyril's eyes widened. "What are you?"

The winged man sneered. "You don't deserve to know." He spun in what could have been a pirouette, trying to hit Cyril with his wings, but the Noah had already jumped back and ducked, leaving the swipe to hit nothing but air. But their attacker had been prepared, as he used his swing to gather speed for a punch that he was sending to Lulubelle's head. A second before it would have crushed her skull, she turned to water, letting the punch fly through her while trying to wrap herself around the attacker, who used his wings to shake her off.

The man laughed. "You're not bad little piggies, but seeing that I don't breathe, you won't be able to suffocate me, so try something else."

"Sure, eat this!" A voice rang out behind him, before a number of solid steel spikes hit him in the back with great speed. Alice had acted, using her power on the floor rather than trying to directly alter the assailant.

The enemy staggered, but quickly caught himself. "Had I been anyone else, that would have done some damage, but unfortunately for you little girl, my special ability is to harden myself, and since I'm harder than steel right now, your spikes didn't do shit!"

He sent a stamping-kick to Alice's head, only for Cyril to catch the attack again. The winged man glared at him. "You know little piggy, you're starting to get on my nerves. I've decided that I'll slaughter you first."

With that, he sent a flurry of punches at Cyril, who blocked them all, before slipping beneath the attackers guard and slamming both fists into the man's chest.

The winged man was catapulted backwards, coughing out a bit of purple blood. His chest looked like a piece of glass that had been thrown to the floor but didn't completely shatter, as it was covered in cracks. He coughed and glared at Cyril. "Had I not hardened my body further in the last moment, that would have shattered me. How did you do it, know you can't be that powerful." He frowned. "Of course. That's it. That's why you don't go to the front-lines, little piggy, you're ability is defensive. You didn't block me, you absorbed the power of my punches and sent them back to me in one go, didn't you? You're power is _Absorption_!"

Cyril shrugged. "And what if it is?"

The creature grinned. "Then little piggy, I've found the answer to my problems with you." The cracks, that had gotten smaller with is speech, vanished completely. "Surprised? It's not high-speed regeneration, but it heals shallow wounds pretty quickly. And my solution is simple. I'll simply make my torso harder than my fists!"

He had barely finished talking, when diamond spikes shot out of the wall behind him, giving his wings and body a number of scratches. As he jumped forward, a whip with diamond serrations wrapped around his neck, while Lulubelle jumped on his chest, pushing herself off it to gain the necessary pull, hoping that it would take the attackers head off.

Unfortunately, they had no such luck. The winged man hissed in pain and a gash half an inch deep appeared on his neck, but then he shook them off and started his counterattack.

* * *

Luciano cursed. Things were not going well. Not at all. He was getting his ass kicked. Even if that winged bastard didn't turn invisible anymore, he was still pretty fast. The fact that he could fly and therefore attack from above was not helping either.

He was knocked off-balance and flew back as he blocked another kick to the head, only barely managing to hold on to his scythe, which he knew that he couldn't afford to loose at any cost right now. All in all, he was at a major disadvantage, seeing that he was bruised and bloody, while his opponent only gave off a little smoke from a lucky hit Luciano had managed to get in, causing the enemy to give up his game of going invisible and striking from an unseen angle, but that wasn't really helping Luciano much. He was taking a beating, and he couldn't do anything about it. His scythe, while an excellent weapon, simply took too much time to swing for an enemy like this whose entire strategy seemed to be based on hit-and-run.

He rolled to the side to dodge a stomp that would have otherwise shattered his ribcage and jumped up, sending a wave of decay at his foe, who foolishly folded his wings to block the shot instead of dodging. There was a hissing sound, and while the wings were still there, they now moved very stiffly, making them unusable for flight. The enemy realized this as well, as the frown on his face and the chunky movement of the wings clearly told Luciano.

Now that the enemy couldn't go into the air, Luciano could probably buy himself some more time, but he held no illusions. The enemy was as fast as he was, maybe a tad faster, and he definitely had more strength behind his punches and kicks. If things stayed like this, Luciano was going down.

* * *

Jasdevi couldn't believe their eyes. One minute, their enemy was trapped, about to be finished off, the next minute, he turns black, using purple wings he definitely didn't have before to shove the golem off of him, and while he was ridiculously flexible before, he now dodged all attacks from their fake Earl and their shots without putting up much effort, bending like jelly to avoid their strikes. Suddenly he lashed out, his arm stretching, hitting Jasdero in the gut. Jasdero spat a bit of blood as he was slammed into the wall, that momentary lapse in focus proving fatal, as both the golem and the fake Earl vanished. Devitto was by his twin's side in an instant.

"What do we do? This guy refuses to go down?" He asked.

Jasdero looked at him, before putting his gun to his twin's head. Devitto nodded, putting his gun to his twin's head.

The winged man's eyes widened, but before he could act on his instincts that told him to stop whatever was going on, the twin's had pulled the trigger.

A few seconds later, the true Jasdevi was standing in the hallway. He sighed. "Lately, I've been forced to do this far too often." Then he looked at hit enemy. "Let's test how flexible you really are."

The winged man sneered. "You underestimate me. Even in your strongest form, I will defeat you."

Jasdevi chuckled. "That's a nice bark you got. Let's see you back it up, with some bite!"

* * *

Tyki was running, Road in arms, to the first place he could think of where Road would be safe, and that was with Cyril. The man became a damned monster when Road was in danger, so Tyki knew that as long as a single breath of life was in Cyril's body, and it was nearly impossible to kill Cyril, Tyki having tried on a few occasions, Road would be safe.

Suddenly he felt something behind him, and by choosing to touch air, he made a dashing jump, as the ground he had been not even a second earlier was smashed by a large fist. Tyki set Road down and spun around. Before him stood in old man. The only thing that was strange about him was his pitch-black skin, the muscular body that didn't match the face and the purple bat-wings sticking out of his back. The old man laughed.

"Slippery little maggot, aren't you?" He raised his fist and his arm tripled in size. "I'll just have to try harder to squash you, don't I?"

Tyki narrowed his eyes and created a vacuum in the area where old man was. The old-timer stopped and struggled a little bit, and Tyki turned to Road, when a voice rang out behind him.

"That was a smart move, and it would have worked, if I had to breath."

Tyki spun around, pulling out two large Tease that he raised to shield against the giant arm that was about to impact with his face, while rejecting the limb away from him. It worked, until the arm doubled in size again and slammed into him, knocking him into the wall. The old man shook his head.

"That can't be all you can do. You're such a disappointment. Or perhaps, you're not taking me seriously. Perhaps if I squash this girl, you'll see me as a worthy adversary?" His arm doubled in size again, now hardly fitting into the corridor, as a dark glow started to surround it. "There won't be a single molecule of her left when I'm done."

Tyki's eyes widened. "DON'T!!!"

The old man grinned evilly. "Try and stop me." With that, he slammed his hand down.

Tyki didn't want to do it, but he saw no other choice.

Suddenly, the old man's giant arm stopped, a armored being with tentacles sprouting out of its back holding it up with one hand. The old man grinned. "Now we're talking."

* * *

The Archangels were facing a few difficulties with their enemies, who seemed to be just a little bit stronger and a little bit faster than them. Michael was doing best, having been a soldier in his previous life, therefore knowing all the dirty tricks of unarmed combat.

Surprisingly, Uriel was also keeping up well with his opponent, unknowingly drawing on knowledge he had gotten in a number of fights with other kids.

Gabriel and Metatron were having more problems, and the fact that their enemies never tired of calling them trash was starting to get on their nerves. If they had permission to use their abilities, this fight would have been over by now, but Michael was having trouble contacting their master and fighting off his enemy at the same time.

* * *

For the dozenth time, Allen was flung into a wall. His enemy's ability, as he himself had proudly proclaimed, was super-strength, which gave him the power to, after a few seconds of struggle, even tear through the _Clown Belt_ that Allen had tried to tangle him up with. Allen's claws had left deep gashes on his enemy, but every hit Allen got felt like being slammed with a wrecking-ball. He coughed out a bit of blood, actually seeing the darkness that was creeping up the corners of his vision, but fighting it down. This was no time to faint, as he wouldn't wake back up if he did.

Still, the fight couldn't go on like this, Allen's body, even if protected by his Innocence, couldn't take too many more hits like the ones the winged foe was dishing out.

That was when he received Michael's signal. _"Master, we are under attack by black individuals with purple wings that in terms of strength and speed are slightly superior to us."_

Allen spat out some blood. "I'm under attack as well."

Michael's voice actually sounded slightly worried. _"We will support you as soon as we silence our targets. Requesting permission to use our powers."_

Allen spoke "Granted. Send them to hell! And sweep through the arc afterwords, there might be more of them."

Allen would have sworn that he heard all four of his Archangels speaking in a smug tone. _"Understood. They will be not trace to prove that they ever existed."_

Allen turned his attention back to his current predicament, jumping to the side just in time to avoid a punch that left a foot-wide crater in the floor. Then something in the corner of his field of vision caught his attention and he remembered what Val had reported him. He smiled. He now had a plan to take out his enemy, although it would leave him completely winded afterwords. All he had to do now was get the enemy in position.

* * *

Cyril bit his lip. They were in trouble. Alice's and Lulubelle's attacks only scratched his opponent, and since he wasn't attacking them with his full strength, he could shake off the impacts that Cyril returned to him. He knew that without his abilities, they would have lost long ago, but all he was doing was drawing out the inevitable.

Suddenly, the winged man laughed. "I'm done playing with you, as of now, my body is harder than diamonds, so you won't be able to scratch me anymore while I can kill you whenever I want to!"

True to his word, the diamond spear that Alice shot out of the ground broke when it impacted with his body, leaving them in a worse situation than before. But just as the winged man was about to attack, Cyril froze and looked behind him as one of the wings fell to the floor. The winged man spun around, avoiding the second slice that would have killed him but loosing the other wing in the progress.

Mordred had climbed out of the wall, his face covered in blood, but his eyes focused. The now wingless man snarled. "Your attack may have surprised me, but rest assured, it won't happen again. I have hardened my body to the maximum, compared to even my hair, diamonds are softer than sculpting-clay! Your woodcutter is useless!"

Cyril's eyes widened as he understood that the enemy had been playing with them, giving them the idea they could win while keeping an ace up his sleeve.

Mordred raised his sword and charged, while the enemy scoffed and crossed his arms above his head, intending to snap the sword after catching the blow. Mordred struck.

For a second, everything was quiet, then Mordred spoke. "There is nothing that Excalibur cannot cut."

Two arms fell to the floor, as a white line crawled down the creature's body, strait as an arrow. Then it exploded.

Mordred walked to Lulubelle, who had been closest to the explosion and was knocked off her feet. He offered her his hand. "Are you alright, milady?"

Lulubelle actually blushed as she nodded and took his hand. Cyril smirked. After years of waiting, they finally had some dirt on Lulubelle.

* * *

Following the order to go all-out, the tide of the battle turned. Gabriel charged her enemy, grabbing him and raising he field, while muttering "_Vanquish_" The black being suddenly vanished, erased from existence.

Metatron materialized a book and a feather, before writing something into the book. He looked up. "You are trapped. You cannot escape from me."

The other one sneered, but found that he could indeed not move further away from Metatron than twenty feet. He spat out. "So what? I don't have to escape. I'll kill you, TRASH!"

Metatron smirked as his enemy suddenly turned into dust. The rules he had written into his book were: _The area of effect may not be left._ and _Those who speak the word 'trash' will be annihilated. _He closed the book and let it disappear, ending its effects.

Uriel stretched his hands towards the charging enemy, waiting until the enemy was too close to retreat before speaking. "Fade away in the _Light of Judgment!_" A bright light erupted from his hands. For an instant, the enemy's silhouette was visible, then it instantly faded away, and when the light died down, no trace of him remained.

Michael charged his opponent, giving him a kick into the chest. The other one stumbled back, right into a vertical ring that quickly expanded into an orb, trapping the purple-winged woman inside of it. Then the ring vanished, taking the woman with it.

The Archangels exchanged a nod, before swarming out to search the arc and come to their master's aid.

* * *

In a separate room, a raven was sitting on a perch, asleep. Two figures charged it, expecting an easy kill when the bird opened its eyes and spread its wings. Darkness seeped from the wings, and for a second, only blackness could be seen. When the light returned, the room was empty. Except for a raven on a perch, with a black finger sticking out of its beak for a moment, before the bird swallowed it.

* * *

Luciano closed his eyes, waiting for the final blow. But while he was waiting, he suddenly felt closer to his weapon than ever. He sighed. 'Mother, father, I miss you.' Then his eyes opened, burning with new determination. 'But I can't join you just yet, I have to watch over my sister, and repay a debt. No, not a debt, I have to help a friend.'

Suddenly his scythe dissolved, turning into a shining thread that seemed to be floating around his arm somehow, one part of it going right across his palm. He felt that he could regain his scythe whenever he wanted, but he also felt he could do something different.

His enemy had backed away when the weapon changed, and Luciano used that little breather. He felt that this thread was not meant to hit the enemy with, instead he slammed his fist into the ground.

His opponent laughed. "What's wrong, are you kneeling before me?"

But the laughter died in his throat when all over the room, giant scythe-blades shot out of the floor, forming a giant circle. Luciano felt that the thread in his hand had changed into a handle, and when he pulled on it, part of a chain was pulled out of the ground while the giant blades began to move forward a bit. Thinking quickly, Luciano pulled with all his might, then blades practically shooting towards the center of the ring. The winged man tried to escape, but an invisible aura in between the blades didn't allow him to escape, the same aura blocking the exit above the blades, both the aura and the presence of the blades caused him to wither, and he tried to retreat, only to find that the aura of decay strengthened the closer the blades got. With a CLINK, the tips of the blades made contact, trapping him in what resembled a birdcage while his body withered into a dry husk. Luciano gave a last pull and suddenly, the blades were in a wider circle around the winged husk, although the tips of the curved blades were not pointing inwards like before, but outwards. The husk remained still for a second, then it crumbled to dust while the chained handle Luciano was still holding returned to being a scythe as the giant blades vanished. Luciano collapsed in exhaustion.

* * *

Allen dodged another blow, making a claw-sweep that left four new gashes on his enemy's arms. Allen had noticed that like a boxer, the winged man always protected his face, and planned to use that for his advantage when the other one lashed out again. Allen was hit right above the ear and flew a few feet before ramming his claws into the ground to stop his flight. He was in position. He charged at his enemy, red energy flying around his raised claw.

As he had expected, the man raised his arms and folded his wings to protect his head. Allen's arm shot forward and a red wave washed over the creature.

When the creature opened his eyes and unfolded his wings, he noticed something was odd. He could still see Allen, but he seemed a lot bigger now and no matter how much he moved, he couldn't get closer to him. "What did you do to me? I'm immune to your powers!" He shouted, noticing he heard nothing but his own voice, and had to lipread Allen's answer.

Allen smirked. "I didn't use it on you, I used my power on reality itself to imprison you in that mirror. You are nothing more than a image on a piece of glass, and that piece of glass is your entire world." He raised his fist and with his last strength, he slammed it into the mirror. A spiderweb of cracks formed on the mirror, the figure trapped in it opening his lips for a silent scream, then he was unable to move. Allen saw his enemy's eyes turn dull, he was dead. Allen pushed himself off with the hand that had shattered the mirror, and after a short pirouette, he leaned against the wall next to the mirror. Grinning as the glass shot forward in an invisible explosion. He let his body slide down the wall, completely exhausted. Of the four great forces, reality always left him unable to stand if he tried it in peak-condition, and he had definitely not been in peak-condition when he did that.

Suddenly a ringing filled Allen's head, and he howled in pain as another figure descended from the ceiling. It was also black with purple wings, but it also had a white Afro. "Don't bother standing up, my ability is running mental interference in your mind, you'll find it hard to think. You fought well, but now I will kill you."

Then the world turned black for Allen.

* * *

Jasdevi scoffed at his enemy, who was trapped in strands of his hair. "You were too cocky, challenging me. I wonder how flexible you'll be if I do THIS!" He tightened the hair, and the trapped winged man was sliced into pieces before exploding. Jasdevi was about to separate, when he heard noise around the corner. He ran to it, and what he saw nearly stopped his heart.

Tyki was in the middle of the hallway, transformed. Lifted and wrapped by the tentacles coming from his back was a black upper-body with an old man's head, purple stumps that might have been wings at some points, and tears where arms might have been.

But what really frightened Jasdevi was that Tyki was leaning down, reaching for Road's neck He jumped at him, but that fight had exhausted him and berserker-Tyki had been stronger than him from the start. He was flung against a wall, a few tentacles making it next to impossible for him to reach Road, so he did the only thing he could. "TYKI, DON'T DO IT! YOU'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOURSELF IF YOU DO IT MAN, DON'T BE AN IDIOT!" Part of him hoped that Tyki would hear and understand him, another part simply hoped that shouting like an idiot would attract Tyki's attention and make him forget about Road, but no such luck. Tyki's hand moved closer to Road's throat, the girl blissfully unaware of the danger to her life, as the tentacles wrapped tighter around the old man and squashed him like a bug. She was still asleep and mumbled something.

Tyki had almost reached her throat when Road muttered a single word that stopped him in his tracks. "Mnm, Tyki." The hand started shaking as Road mumbled on. "No, help, Tyki, Allen." The smile on Roads face told Jasdevi that it was a nice dream, but the effect of Road's words on Tyki were strange. He was shaking like a leaf, locked in an internal war. Finally, the hand moved again, and Jasdevi feared for the worst, but Tyki didn't snap Road's neck. Instead, he gently caressed her cheek, before looking at Jasdevi.

"So what did I miss?" He asked.

Jasdevi was at a loss for words. "You...what...how?"

Tyki looked at himself, then his eyes widened. "Allen! He's being attacked by another one of those black creatures! Now that I have this form under control, somewhat," He added when Jasdevi dodged a tentacle "we have to go and help him!"

Road woke up. "Help Allen? What's wrong with Allen? Tyki, you can control yourself! And why did you two unite to Jasdevi? More importantly, what's wrong with Allen?!"

Tyki and Jasdevi exchanged a look. "Come with us, we'll explain on the way!"

They arrived at the room where Tyki had left Allen, shared another look and charged in, prepared to defend Allen. What they saw was the last thing they had expected.

Allen stood in the center of the room, covered in purple blood. The fingers of his right hand were grabbing into a white Afro, a black head hanging on it, up to the nose, the rest was missing. The rest of the body was spread all across the room. Allen turned his head to them, his eyes devoid of any life, then he silently collapsed, Road catching him before he hit the floor.

She looked around and asked the question burning on everybody's lips. "What the hell is going on?"

As if to answer her, the Earl's voice rang through the ark. "I apologize for any inconveniences, the test of my new Level 5s is over, thank you for your hard work and cooperation."

One thought went through all minds. "Earl, we have to talk."

* * *

Chapter 22 is done. Before you complain, please forget that this is already more the usual chapter length, so deal with it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! I hope you like your presents, both the ones you get and mine, these updates. I'll tell you this much, I was really pressured to get them all done, and I fear that some parts may have suffered under that strain, though I hope the results are still readable. Enjoy these chapters I updated, for I'm afraid they'll be the last for the next few years. I have been given a difficult and dangerous task that will take me to places I didn't know existed, far away from any internet-access or any other comfort of civilization. Wish me luck, there is a chance that I don't return, for I have been ordered to clean my room.

All jokes aside, I haven't cleaned the place in like a year, and there's no internet for me until it's done, so don't expect anything else from me this year. If you don't hear from me in the next few months, I have probably passed away, buried by an avalanche of stuff I had forgotten existed. So to all my readers I give you this now: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!

I just wanted to say that this story hasn't been canceled, I put way too much work into it to just quit, but I judge the popularity of my stories by the number of reviews I'm getting, and since a over 10.000-words-chapter that I worked very hard on got THREE reviews, I get the impression that not many people read this story, so I'm putting it on back-burner for now. It's not canceled, but it won't be updated as regularly as my other stories.

I decided against asking specific questions, since it seems to scare people off, I don't have any review that rely needs a reply, and I'm in a hurry to get this done and up before I'm thrown off the computer, I'll end it here for for today.

Please Review


	23. A new faction?

Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM  
_

The Millennium Earl was humming. The final performance of his new Level 5s was sadly not quite as good as he had hoped. It was the same problem he had already noticed before, the regression of abilities.

Level 1s were all the same, basically little more than cocoons, uniform and without anything that made them special. Once they had reached a certain point, the cocoon would burst and reveal a Level 2, secretly his favorite type of Akuma.

Those had semi-free will, they were individual and what made them his favorite, they had an ability that was not only unique to themselves, but completely unpredictable. There was no common element that tied the abilities together, and they were as diverse as one could imagine, going from guided missiles and sonic shrieks over freezing flames to the ability to mirror all kinds of things or turn humans into puppets by staring at them for five seconds. To the Earl it always felt like opening a present, you never knew what was inside before it was revealed.

The Level 3s were still great, much stronger and resilient, but not only did they lose their Level 2 ability, their new one always revolved around Dark Matter. They were still destructive, and he enjoyed the carnage they caused greatly, but there was just something missing, the diversity of the Level 2 was lost. He still enjoyed watching what they could do with Dark Matter, but he always knew it was Dark Matter, not like the Level 2 with their unexplainable abilities. In the end, it was like watching a magic-show where you knew how all the tricks worked. It could still be fun, but the real thrill just isn't there.

With Level 4s, it got really bad. Their abilities degenerated to the point nonexistence. They were faster, stronger, could after a bit of alteration turn their arms into machine-guns and had a scream that disrupted the connection with Innocence, but that was it! They were mass-production, dime a dozen. They could be tuned, like the one who had bullets that deepened all wounds if they were attempted to be healed by Innocence, but that was just the problem. The only way they had any special abilities if he gave them some, what fun was that? There were no surprises, nothing that goes against your expectations, how utterly boring.

For Level 5s he had tried a different route, after Allen Walker of all people succeeded where he had failed. So the Earl had merged multiple Level 4s together to create Level 5s. His first two experiments, for which he had used four Level 4s to create one Level 5 each, had been failures. Oh, they were alive, and ridiculously powerful, but they had the intelligence of beasts, and what was worse, they were uncontrollable, not even accepting him as their master. He had locked those away where they'd never be found and couldn't escape from, and decided to try the merge with less. First with three, but those were unstable and exploded, then with two, and there was his success. They were strong, they were fast, they were smart and most importantly, they were loyal.

There was only one flaw. Their abilities. While the Earl was happy that they developed them on their own and that there was again no way to predict what they were, it was even more limited than the Level 3s. They were either something mental, which he had so far only seen on one of them, or it was the ability to alter their bodies some way. It seemed that the power of Allen's Level 5s was beyond them, something that had been proven the moment those got serious. While his were a bit faster and stronger, their abilities were no match for Allen's creations. It was a shame, but for now, there was no way to change that. At least he had managed to add a immunity to internal interference into them, mainly so that if Cross decided to teach the Order how to control Akuma, they wouldn't be able to use them against him. The side-effect of making them immune against Influence-types was not too bad, just in case one decided to pull a musician.

However, it seemed that the Noah were less overjoyed at his success. Maybe he should have given some heads-up? Nah, if he did that, there'd have been no chance of testing the Akuma in a natural, read unprepared, setting. And here they came.

-0-

As coincident would have it, all Noah, Tyki carrying the still unconscious Allen, met in front of the dining room, the room the Earl usually was around this time. Cyril looked at Allen. "What happened to him?"

Tyki shrugged with his free shoulder. "Me, Allen and Road, who was still out cold, were attacked by one of the Earl's new toys. Allen told me to get Road away while he held the thing off. Course, back then we had no idea there were more than one. When we got to him, the first one was nowhere to be seen and Allen was holding the head of a second one, then he collapsed."

Cyril nodded. While he still didn't like Allen, he could respect him for taking on what apparently turned out to be two of those monsters by himself to buy Road time, when they had needed four men, well two men and two women, to deal with just one. Also, right now he had someone else he wanted to yell at, someone who would be behind that door if he knew what was good for him, because having to look for him would not raise anyone's mood.

To the Earl's luck and misfortune, he was indeed in the dining room. "Ah, you're just in time for the meal." He proclaimed happily, ignoring the glares he was getting. It turned out to be the wrong opening.

Alice lost her temper first. "Meal? After what you just did to us, you have the nerve to wave it off with FUCKING FOOD?"

The Earl smiled. "Now now, lets not blow things out of..." A number of spikes shot out of the table, missing him by inches.

Alice snarled. "Don't you dare finish that sentence. Those bastards went at us with every intention of killing us!"

Now Tyki spoke, calmer, but no less angry. "Earl, both Jasdevi and I had to turn into our true form to avoid being slaughtered, in my case the thing you sent tried to crush Road, who was not even conscious at the time, to death with a giant fist. That I didn't kill her was a miracle, so please don't speak of blowing the threat to our lives out of proportion. Those things tried to kill us all, and they damn near succeeded! Were you trying to end our lives?"

The Earl's smile faltered slightly. He now realized that with that one maneuver, he had destroyed much trust that had been once between them. Apparently he had burned some bridges he to this point had believed indestructible. He wasn't worried about mutiny, as there were certain... precautions in place to prevent such things, although Noah's Compassion had proved annoyingly resistant to them, having turned against him on a regular basis. From Moses over David to Simon Peter 'the rock' and finally Orpheus, Allen's direct predecessor. Every single one of them a menace in their own right, betraying him openly, Peter even for that man Jesus.

He was one of the few people that the Earl had feared. The man had the blood of the old humanity, but he was not awakened by anyone else. No, Jesus had done something that no man since the great flood had down, he had awakened himself. Indeed a child of god, and someone the Earl had stayed clear from, as he really did not want to tussle with a man that had managed to gain a demon-lord as a follower. No, Legion, or Judas Iscariot, was not someone the Earl had wanted to meet under any circumstances, as the demon was loyal to Jesus to a fault, which he had proven when he had completed Christ's final plan. The only good news was that after that, Legion had sealed himself away, the Earl quickly adding a few layers himself, and that Jesus had, as far as he knew, not left behind a legacy like Noah. No, the Children of Christ would have been a disaster for his plans, especially if they followed the belief of their ancestral father.

Either way, he had to do something. He could not afford to bring the Noah against him at this stage. The Order was getting stronger, the Cube was still keeping their headquarters fairly safe, without his Egg being there the invasion would never have succeeded, and once they stationed their headquarters into the old Arc, their base and by extension all Innocence they had, would be practically untouchable for him. He could not afford to have the Noah go on strike now.

He smiled, and was grateful that with his current face nobody could tell it was forced. "Now now, I had the utmost confidence in your abilities. I did tell my new little Akuma to make it realistic, I guess they may have gone a little overboard."

Alice snorted. "A little overboard, he says. More like bat-shit crazy. Have you actually seen what those motherfucking shitstains did? It tried to bash in my skull when I got close and found out the hard way that the bastard was immune to my power! My thanks to you Cyril, by the way. What was up with that? Why make them immune to our powers instead of, for example, more resistant to this Innocence-crap? And your new fucktoy nearly did bash in the skull of Mordred, wielder of your precious Excalibur, when he popped up behind him without a warning and blasted him _through_. The. Fucking. Wall!"

Now the Earl frowned. Losing Excalibur as a weapon on his side would have been a harsh blow, not to mention it would have made half the reasons for getting it pointless. He would have to be more careful in the future. "Well that's not good. I'll make sure that the next batch will have clearer instructions, and they won't attack you."

The Noah were obviously not satisfied, but the Earl cleaned his face and vanished, clearly indicating that for him, the conversation was over.

Cyril sighed. "We're not going to get anything better out of him for now. Still, I wonder what drove him to do that."

Road tilted her head. "What if he really didn't order it?"

Tyki shook his head. "You know it doesn't work that way. There are only two possibilities to why this attack happened. We are Noah, Akuma don't just attack us, and even if we accept the unlikely explanation of an internal error, on all five? Either the Earl explicitly ordered that attack to be done with lethal force, or he did not key us Noah into the Akuma's chain of command, or even as a priority and as such not to be killed. Honestly, I don't know which option is worse."

Lulubelle nodded. "I do not see any other possibilities either. That means that either the Earl purposefully left us out of those Akuma's priority list, which means that he does not trust us with them, or he has ordered them to attack and potentially kill us, which overrode our status as a priority."

Road frowned. "So he either sees us as untrustworthy... or expendable?"

Silence reigned after that.

-0-

Allen woke up with a groan. As he tried to lift himself up, he felt someone gently pushing him back down. The he heard Tyki's voice. "Whoa, take it easy there Allen, no need to rush. You've been through a lot, don't force yourself. How are you feeling?"

"Like I got ran over by a stampede." Allen muttered. "Seriously though, I am sore. I can hardly even move. Oh, hi everyone." He had just noticed that all Noah, the Deminoah and his Archangels had gathered, the last sitting at the side while the rest had apparently talked, though now all were looking at him, to Allen's discomfort that included Cyril.

Road was of course ignorant to any peril to Allen's life, as she beamed at him and jumped, arms outstretched. "AALLLLEEEEN!"

Tyki caught her in the air. "Not now Road."

Suddenly Allen remembered what had happened. "Those black things that attacked me, one said there were more of them! Is everyone alright?"

Tyki eased his fears, "Everyone's fine. Well, everyone that matters anyways... It's good that you're awake, perhaps you can shed some light into our discussion."

Allen shrugged. "I can try. What's bothering you?"

Cyril sighed. "Those black things were Level 5 created by the Millennium Earl. What bothers us is that he decided to test them by ordering to attack all of us with everything they had, and I can tell you, it was a close call in more than one case, mine included. And he waved everything off when we confronted him. That raised the question how much the Earl truly cares about us."

Allen frowned. "Won't it be bad if the Earl learns of this?"

Metatron looked up. "No need to worry master, we are within my territory. To the Earl and anything he might have sent to spy on us, no word of what is spoken will reach their ears. Instead they will believe we are comparing the abilities of the Earls Level 5s with each other and with us Archangels."

Allen nodded, more to himself. "I see. Well in that case, there is one thing that made me think. I believe that the Earl cares about the Noah-clan, but not about the Noah."

Road decided to voice everyone's thoughts. "Sorry Allen, but I think I speak for everyone if I say that I'm not sure I understand what you're saying."

Allen sighed. "Back when I sent Michael to the Order, he found two objects that were described as crystallized Noah, which I think means that the memories of Noah were sealed into those crystals. Anyways, the Earl said a few things that really made me wonder. He talked about the resurrection of Noah's memories, but he made it sound like a return of an old soldier rather than the birth of a new one. I think that for the Earl, it matters that the Noah are fighting on his side, but he doesn't particularly care who those Noah are."

Everyone was quiet after that, until Alice spoke, in a surprisingly polite and formal way, especially for her standards. "Now that you mention it, the fat marshmallow on multiple occasions welcomed me _back_, or spoke of my _return_. Rather than welcoming me as a new member in his ranks, he gave me a formal salute like I was a soldier who returned from sick-leave. And one question, was anyone sad when my predecessor croaked?"

Road nodded, holding her chest. "It hurt. It felt like a part of my heart had been torn out, and I've cried for almost an hour. The others were the same."

"Even the Earl?" Luciano asked.

The Noah, sans Allen and Alice, who had no way of knowing, exchanged baffled looks. Finally, Lulubelle shook her head. "Now that I think back, I'd have to say no. I was with the Earl when Skin was killed. He seemed unaffected by the loss and if anything, displeased. When comparing that to his fury at the loss of the Egg, I'd have to say that he might have sacrificed all of us if it would get him the Egg back." She frowned, obviously not liking the statement she had just given. She had always been loyal to the Earl, but was someone who would care more about an object he could recreate within a few years, still having around 20% to use as basis, than the lives of those he called his elite truly worthy of her loyalty?

If she was honest with herself, which she wasn't quite ready to be yet, the only answer could be no.

The discussion went on after that, but the results were less than satisfying. While the Earl received the benefit of doubt, the Noah were more careful now, and had secretly vowed to keep a closer eye on their employer.

-0-

In the Order, things had gotten into a a somewhat ordinary pattern. The exorcists were training, the researchers were working, and Levrier was pulling out his hair at the terror Lavi and Jesaia spread throughout both the old headquarters and the Arc. Kanda was not stepping in, as the duo of destruction was careful to not do anything that would bother Kanda, so the quiet swordsman left them in peace, since he didn't like Levrier all that much either. Komui of course found the whole thing terribly amusing, and watched gleefully as Levrier ran around like a headless chicken trying to reign in the newest catastrophe.

Dagmar had also found a new role. With her Innocence, she was able to help the other exorcists with their Innocence, from time to time telling them something that they themselves had not known, like explaining Crowry just how much Akuma-blood he could take when he was at a certain percentage of power, and that at 100%, in other words peak condition, he could safely absorb more blood than he could actually drink, or just how much of his blood he would have to leave in his body to use _Bloody Crowry_ without harming himself, and that in that form, he could take in an entire ocean of Akuma-blood if he could find one, and as long as he remembered not to try and take it back into his body, all it would do was make him more powerful. Even the Generals learned a few things about their Innocence they had not known, although Dagmar noticed that Cross had shrouded himself in a magic that prevented her from learning anything about him.

Amongst the exorcist, the formerly blind girl had gained the nickname 'princess', roughly around the same time Valkyrie had been dubbed the 'dragon'. The older girl kept a close eye on Dagmar and fiercely driving off anyone who may cause the girl harm, namely Levrier and all who associated with him on a voluntary basis, and she had already, using her _Hungry Ghost_, sent a number of CROWs that had the mission to capture the little girl for Levrier's 'training' to the hospital as vegetables, although they indeed recovered after a few weeks, the message was clear. Stay the fuck away.

At the moment, Lavi and Jesaia were training, having already prepared the newest disaster for Levrier, when Lavi noticed the girls arriving. "Jesaia, look at that. A maiden, a princess, and her guardian dragon. Hi Lenalee, what's the rush? Did we miss a summon?"

Lenalee waved at Lavi. "Training hard I see Lavi. And you didn't miss a summon. Nii-san on the other hand..."

Jesaia laughed. "Let me guess. Levrier called for another pointless meeting and he ditched it, right?"

Val clapped. "Bravo Sherlock, your deduction is once more correct."

Jesaia grinned and bowed like an actor after a particularly great performance. "Thank you, thank you, far too kind. Do I get a prize, Watson?"

Val chuckled while she shook her head. "Don't push your luck, boy, or you'll lose it all. Anyways, Komui had the idea to see if our little princess here can locate hosts if she looks at Innocence, so Lenalee is bringing her down to Hevlaska."

Lavi grinned. "And as the princess's royal guardian dragon, you of course accompany her, right?"

Val grinned, hugged Dagmar from behind and rubbed her cheek against the girl's. "But of course."

Dagmar struggled half-heartily, in reality enjoying the family-like atmosphere of the exorcists. Lenalee was like the mother that watched over the flock. Lavi, Jesaia and Timothy were the annoying but lovable brothers that always lightened things up, while Kanda took the place of the serious older brother that kept everyone in line. The Generals were grandparents of sorts, although Cloud was more like an aunt that watched over everyone whenever she had the time. Cross was the perverted one, Tiedoll the odd one, and Zokalo was that really odd one nobody really liked to talk about. Why ruin a perfectly good conversation with that man? Crowry and Miranda were the slightly depressed but still lovable ones, while Marie was the responsible brother that everyone could talk to. As for Val, if one didn't count the fact that she might kill Dagmar at any moment, she would perfectly fit into the role of the fiercely protective older sister, that let nobody near the apple of her eye without a thorough inspection. And according to the stories she was told, Allen Walker had somewhat taken on the role of the kind father, that was there for everyone, tried to help everyone, and was the shoulder they could all lean on when they were weak. Considering the man still helped his friends even though he had officially become an enemy, it seemed to be true.

Not surprisingly for Dagmar, or anyone with a functioning set of eyes connected to a working brain, Jesaia tackled Lavi for the comment about Val being a dragon. If the boy's crush was any more obvious, 'I LOVE VALKYRIE' would glow on his forehead. And even though her eyes were not working correctly on Val, Dagmar would have to be blind to miss her infatuation with the blond Yankee. Amusing that the Noah-ish spy in the Order, just like her master and creator of sorts, had a reason for wanting to make sure that certain people stayed intact.

Another amusing thing was that amongst those that actually cared, only two people didn't notice the love in the air between that soon-to-be couple, and their names were Valkyrie Nocturn and Jesaia Harlequin.

Lenalee, Val and Dagmar started walking again, Lenalee holding her head as if the behavior of the duo of destruction had given her migraine. "Boys. I have no idea how they manage to get along if they fight all the time."

Val shrugged. "Pack schlägt sich, Pack verträgt sich."

Lenalee blinked. "What?"

Val shrugged. "It's a German saying. I'd translate it to 'peasant fights, peasant makes up', although it is pretty tricky to translate the word 'Pack'. It is a term generally used when one looks down on a crowd of people, but it's not really that insulting anymore. Anyways, they're male. Half of all male friendships involve beating each other to a pulp, laughing through broken teeth, getting drunk together and waking up best friends. I've given up trying to understand it when I was six. I don't know how it works, I just know that it does work. Just accept it, you'll live longer."

Lenalee chuckled. "I guess you're right."

Val smirked. "Of course I'm right. Now, into the darkness we ride!" She called out dramatically as they entered the elevator. "Watch out down there, here we come!"

-0-

Weeks passed, and in the Arc, things also returned to normal. The Noah were still distrustful and gave every of the Earl's Level 5s that occasionally wandered through the Arc a dirty look on sight, which was replied in kind, worrying the Noah even more, as these new Akuma obviously had less respect for them than they should. They didn't obey them, the only thing that was different with the second batch was that they apparently received the order not to attack.

Still, life went on, a few of the Noah occasionally leaving to follow a rumor about some strange event that could be caused by Innocence. Generally they drew straws. One day, Allen had drawn the shortest stick this time, the Earl came with a new mission.

"Well, there have been unexplainable disappearances in a small Bulgarian village, right in the middle of nowhere. Such a high rate of people vanishing into thin air is abnormal, and the Involvement of Innocence is a possibility. With a bit of luck, we may finally find the heart and end this tiresome war."

Allen nodded and stood up. "When do I leave?"

The Earl looked at him. "Right now."

'Figures.' Allen thought to himself. But all complaining would do no good, so he saved himself the trouble. His ride was probably already programmed.

-0-

Allen looked over the village from a hill. He had spent three days here, and had found out very little. The disappearances the Earl described had indeed occurred, but that was pretty much all he got. The villagers were deeply distrustful of strangers, even more so now that the numbers of missing people was climbing high. He had managed to coax his only piece of information out of a child, was nearly lynched for his effort when overly trigger-happy villagers thought he was about to steal the kid. He had to activate _Crown Clown_, which actually formed in the shape of wings, and the villagers had dropped to the floor, their heads in the dust, thinking they had attacked an angel. Allen wasn't complaining, as it had allowed him to make a break for it.

The little girl had told him that everyone who vanished had last been seen going into a specific part of the forest, which was the reason he was fighting himself through bushes and trees right now, muttering a number of curses at the world at large. "Stupid Earl. Stupid mission, stupid bushes, stupid thorns, stupid insects, stupid nettles..."

All in all, he felt fairly miserable. Not only because he had tripped over a root hidden in the bushes and landed face-first in a bunch of nettles, but also because he was feeling incredibly tense, but didn't know why. There was neither a suspicious sound, nor was there a suspicious absence of sound. Birds were singing, beetles and bloodsucking insects were buzzing, everything was like in a normal forest. Still, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he felt as if there was a presence nearby watching him. An evil presence. An ancient enemy. Where did that come from?

He saw a clearing, and headed for it. Anything to get out of the thorns. He could use his Innocence, but it felt a little silly to use it for something so petty. And no, using it to keep Road from jumping on him was not petty, it was a crucial and necessary act of self-preservation, got that?

The clearing itself was fairly normal, a roughly circular clearing with a radius of around forty feet, with grass growing and not much else. On the far end of the clearing was a partially uprooted tree, probably from a storm. It seemed there was a burrow there, probably badgers or some other digging animals.

Allen frowned. There was a black haze of some kind seemed to come out of that burrow. He approached it carefully, _Crown Clown_ draped around his shoulders. Now he heard the buzzing. Flies! That haze was a swarm of flies! Well, flies in such numbers meant that there was either a lot of excrement, or something dead in that burrow. Maybe the badger died of old age or something. Still, better make sure.

His nose told him that the smell of rotting meat was coming out of the hole. So much for feces. He waved his hand to shoo the flies away and leaned forward to peak into the hole. With a gasp, he jumped back.

He had found the missing villagers.

-0-

The sight was horrifying. Stuffed into the hole in the ground were a dozen bodies, carelessly tossed away after the life had left their bodies. They were all in various stages of decay, not surprising considering that the first disappearance had been almost a month ago, and that it was fairly warm. From what Allen could tell at the first glance, they all seemed to have died from a sharp weapon, like a knife or a sword, the latter being more likely considering the size of some of the cuts, although some of the stabs seemed to point at an ax, or a ridiculously wide blade. Bile rose up in his throat, and he emptied his stomach, tears dropping into the puddle of half-digested food. Whoever did this was deeply sick. They had murdered for no apparent reason, then just left the bodies to rot. What monster would do something like this?

It seemed he was about to find out, as _Crown Clown_ billowed out, forming spikes, while actually being cut by a large blade. Allen jumped to the side before the giant sword could slay him, and just in the nick of time. With at THUMB, the sword dug deep into the ground he had been standing on a second prior.

Allen spun in the air, landing on his feet and looking at his attacker. If he had been looking for a muscled giant, he would have been sorely disappointed. His attacker looked to be around seventeen, athletic and lean, with curly black hair stopping just before his shoulders and seemingly bored brown eyes. He was wearing cheap old pants and a baggy shirt, making him look like an average young member of the working class. The only thing that didn't fit into that picture was the giant sword that the man had resting on his shoulder. The thing was huge!

The blade alone had to be ten feet long and three feet wide, its shape the classic European design, straight like an arrow with a tip shaped like an arrowhead. The hilt of the blade was maybe four feet long, a razor-sharp half-moon sitting on the end of it, allowing the wielder to make quick jabs after a sweeping attack. The thing had to weigh a ton, but the boy was carrying it with one hand. Also, it couldn't be a normal sword, as it had cut through _Crown Clown_ like it was a piece of cloth.

That sword seemed to match some of the injuries on the mangled corpses, so Allen was doubtful that this was a joke. "Who are you?" He asked.

The man grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Allen's eyes narrowed. "Were you the one that did this?"

The grin widened. "Ah, you're admiring my handiwork. Pretty good for such an unhandy weapon, wouldn't you agree?"

Allen fought down the urge to attack. "Why did you kill them?"

The man grinned. "You want the truth? It was to lure you out, Noah."

Now Allen was shocked. "Who are you?" He repeated, his skin turning ashen as his hair changed from white to black.

The man giggled. "Wow, that's a nice trick. Let me try that." Then, to Allen's shock, his skin turned ashen, his hair darkened, and his eyes took on a golden shimmer.

At first Allen thought that the man was a Noah, until he noticed something. The stigmata. There was something wrong with the man's stigmata. His too was a chain of crosses, but his was tilted, looking like an **x** instead of a . "What are you?" Allen asked.

The man looked at him. "You don't deserve to know. But I'll tell you this much. When we are reborn, we choose a new name for ourselves. You can call me Damon Lizard." With that, the man now known as Damon dashed at Allen, the sword making a wide arch as it cut through the air.

Allen ducked, and the blade severed a tree like it was butter. "What is up with that sword?" Allen called out as it cut through another piece of his cloak that he had extended to capture Damon.

The not-Noah smiled evilly. "Magic." He answered.

Allen would have thought the man was making fun of him, but he himself knew it existed, as both the Earl and Cross Marian could use it. Heck, Mana had used it to transfer the Musician's mind into his body. So he narrowed his eyes. "So you're a mage? He asked, as he took a step back to avoid the crescent-blade.

Damon shrugged. "Sadly no. I had someone else do this for me. Cool, huh? You won't find much this baby can't cut, now HOLD STILL, DAMNIT!"

Allen gave him a pitying look. "Do I look like an idiot?" Then his face froze. "But how about I make you pay for your crimes?" With that, he rushed forward, the edge of his cape turning sharp as a blade.

Damon raised his blade to block, and the cloak was cut. Only then did he realize his mistake. The cloak simply reunited behind the blade and rushed forward. He tried to dodge, but still received a deep cut on his cheek. He hissed in pain as he felt the Innocence biting into his flesh. Still, he tried to keep up his pokerface. "My crimes? This is rich. A Noah speaking of crimes, of murder?"

Allen looked at him. "Perhaps from a Noah this sounds hypocritical, but I am both Compassion and a former exorcist! I still have my morals, I have never laid hand on the innocent, unlike you!" He shouted, the images of the poor souls who had been slaughtered and then stuffed into a hole like garbage.

Damon broke out into hysterical laughter. "Bwahaha. Innocent? That's rich? Hahaha. Tell me, what is innocence? Didn't they ever tell you? There are no innocent people! There are only lambs to the slaughter for the superior breed. You Noah are above the normal scum, and we're above you. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm restricted to you Noah, I slaughter humans too." His grin widened. "It's really fun. You should hear it. Buhu, not my child, no, take me, not my child. Leave my daddy alone. Take your hands off my sister..."

Something inside of Allen found the statement amusing, while a different part was insulted. However the second statement made his blood boil. This man... no, this thing before him was not making this up, he had heard those words. A low growl escaped his throat, and before Damon could do as much as blink, Allen's cloak had billowed and wrapped him plus sort up like a mummy, robbing him of the ability to move. Allen's eyes had turned cold, something, perhaps Compassion, told him that this monster could not be allowed to live for a single day longer, or there would be more tragedy, so without a moments hesitation, he charged at the currently paralyzed Damon, his cloak opening a hole right were his heart was, and stabbed his clawed arm through the maniac.

The cloak released him, and Damon stared at the hole in his chest in shock. Blood flowed from his lip, Allen had apparently nicked a lung, as the man tried to remain control of his body.

Against common belief, a body with his heart removed can still operate for roughly thirty seconds before the oxygen delivered by the blood is used up and the body shuts down. Damon staggered, trying to remain standing, but even as he fought, the sword slipped out of his fingers. He clutched his chest, trying to speak, but collapsed, face in the dirt.

Allen gave the body a final look, before turning to the tree with the corpses and giving a short bow of respect. "May you rest in peace." He spoke a few prayers for the deceased and was about to turn the bodies to dust, when he again felt that tingling sense of danger. Without thinking, he lunged to the side.

A oddly familiar sword the size of a pillar dug itself deep into the ground. Allen turned around, and saw a slightly bloodied, but perfectly healthy, only red spots and a hole in his shirt telling of the fatal injury he had received only minutes before. He had jumped to his sword and picked it up, before looking down on himself. "Ah man, now look what you did. You ruined my shirt."

-0-

Damon was, for the first time, grateful for his power. He knew that he had drawn the short end of the stick when it came to powers, lacking the destructive powers of his siblings, but at this moment, he wouldn't have traded them for all of the others combined. None of them would have gotten up after getting a high-powered Innocence-claw through the heart, what was he saying, the claw had annihilated his heart and a good piece of his lungs too, and the Innocence had left a burning that killed off all healing that his kind usually had. His ability however was _Regeneration_, something that he regarded as akin to immortality in a way. No matter how many time his opponent may slay him, Damon would not die. Chop off his head, and it would regrow, with all the information still in it! That was the reason he had decided to take on the last name Lizard, for no matter how many times you cut off its tail, you will not end it. As such, any fight would turn into a war of attrition, and since his regeneration also removed fatigue, there was no way he could lose in one of those.

Of course there was the matter of lacking offensive power, but the master had given him a solution for that. This sword was not only next to unstoppable, with the possible and honestly-spoken quite likely exception of Excalibur, but it also had a hidden ability the master had added. Of course there was that troublesome law of magic, that when a non-magician used magic, there was a price he had to pay, but his ability served him well in this regard.

-0-

Allen growled. "How on earth are you still standing?" He demanded. This guy felt just as bad as Mordred's brother and Friedrich Himmelhund. The Noah in him was demanding blood in a never-known intensity, and his Innocence had grown spikes, hooks and his claws were growing toothed serrations. It seemed to be hardly able to not jump off Allen and attack. _Crown Clown_ was radiating raw hatred unlike anything Allen had ever felt before.

Damon grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know?" It was the same answer he had given him on his first question.

Allen took a calming breath. "So you have incredible healing."

Damon nodded. "Instantaneous."

Allen noticed a paradox. "If it's instantaneous, then why did you need over a minute to heal from the hole in your chest?"

Damon's gaze flickered to the claw, then to the cape, before he quickly refocused on Allen, trying to keep his pokerface. But he had already tipped his hand. Allen grinned. "It's the Innocence, isn't it? It's causing you pain and slowing your healing. I'm guessing if the contact is long enough, you wouldn't be able to heal and die."

Damon frowned. Damn, that kid was sharp. Oh well, he might be in for a surprise, or three. He smiled. "Maybe, maybe not. Only one way to find out, isn't there?" He jumped back, and focused. "Time to get serious." His lithe and almost skinny frame filled out, lean but very powerful muscles bulging under his shirt.

Allen's eyes widened as Damon suddenly disappeared. Before he could look around, a horrible impact hit the side of his face, sending him flying through four trees before he stopped. He could hardly groan before a vicious stomp to the chest forced him into a five-foot deep crater that hadn't been there before. "W-What...?" Allen stammered.

Damon laughed. "Tell me, have you ever heard of over-regeneration?"

Allen's confused look gave all the answer needed. Damon shrugged. "When doing exercise or anything exhausting, you put strain on your muscles, causing minor damage, really. Your muscles heal that in a day or so. However, it doesn't just heal, it makes the muscles stronger, so that they are better prepared should the strain return. I can control this regeneration as well, giving me an instant boost in strength and speed. And these aren't normal human muscles, they're equal, if not superior, to those of the Noah. So right now, even with your Innocence, I'm faster," Suddenly he was gone, and a superhuman kick to the ribs flung Allen into the air like a ragdoll. "stronger," He appeared before Allen, left fist raised. Allen tried to block, with the result that the bones in his arms felt like they had been reduced to powder. "and simply better than you!" With that, he appeared behind the flying Allen, elbowed him into the ground, before grinning. "So now DIE!" He slammed his hands together, entwined his fingers, pulled the two-handed fist up behind his head, and slammed it down on Allen's head.

This time the crater was wider and deeper. Almost twenty feet below the normal surface layed, face-down, the unmoving body of Allen Walker, blood flowing out from below the hood of the Innocence. Damon huffed. "Not so tough now, are you? The strongest of the Noah my ass. I didn't even need to use my sword. Weakling." He glanced at the fallen body one last time, before spitting in the crater and walking to his blade, laughing.

When he reached his sword, he couldn't hold it in any longer. "Man, if this guy is the strongest, how weak are the others? This will be a piece of..." He froze. Slowly, disbelievingly, he turned his head.

"No way." Blood pouring out from above the hairline, dyed in crimson stood Allen Walker like an angel of vengeance, his golden gaze oddly empty.

Damon pulled out the sword and tried to swing, but before he could as much as blink, Allen was in front of him, grabbing the sword's long hilt and twisting it out of Damon's hands. The moment the contact between master and weapon was broken, black lighting shot out, the magic in the blade refusing to be wielded by a Noah. Allen merely tossed the weapon forty feet away, before his empty eyes refocused on the attacker.

"Don't..." Shock was quickly replaced by anger, as Damon roared. "GET COCKY!" His fist swung at Allen, fast enough to scratch against the sound-barrier, strong enough to send Big Ben into the atmosphere... and hit empty space, as Allen had ducked beneath the blow, and sunk his own fist into his enemy's gut.

Damon felt as if he had been hit by a meteor. 'Where did he get that strength?' he wondered, until he noticed the absolute blank look on Allen's face. 'Oh no.' He just remembered what the master had told him about Noah in common and Compassion in particular.

"_Noah are not an enemy you should underestimate. They are as strong and fast as you. And under no circumstance, absolutely none, should you attack Noah's Compassion alone. If you fight him, kill him as fast as you can, playing around WILL result in your death. While many believe that Compassion and Rage have nothing in common, a statement that is normally correct, there is one thing that makes both unique under the other Noah. They are berserkers. But while Rage is a classic berserker, in that he attacks with wild abandon with neither feeling nor care for pain or injury, Compassion is much worse. Instead of letting loose, he will become absolutely calm. He is a machine that identifies its target and will not stop or rest before it is silenced. Also, Rage will attack blindly, while Compassion will strike with absolute precision to reach the quickest, and most efficient solution, the target silent and the damage to the surrounding minimal. There have been Rages of Noah that have been permanently stuck in the berserker-form, while Compassion will only enter his when he feels a threat that he cannot overcome by himself. In that mode, they are many times stronger, faster, and more dangerous, especially since all of Compassion's brain-power will be used exclusively for the elimination of the enemy. So if you have to fight Compassion, you must kill him at all costs, before he enters..."_

Damon paled. "The Genocide-mode." he whispered, before a kick to his side that his attempted punch had left open sent him shooting through the air. He tried to catch himself, and succeeded in skidding to a halt. Only now did he realize something. 'He's not wearing the cape! Where's the cape?'

Allen had not moved from the spot, instead pointing at Damon. Then he calmly called out, sounding utterly bored "_Clown Belt: Iron Maiden_"

White spikes shot out of the ground beneath Damon's feet, a few piercing them. Damon cried in pain as he felt the Innocence biting into his flesh like acid, and spun around to flee. Too little, too late. The cap had not simply dug itself beneath the ground, it had merely sent an outskirt of the cloak there, while the rest now rose up, the cape wide and every single inch of it clustered with long white spikes. Before Damon had a chance to do as much as curse, the cloak had closed in front of him, and the entire thing began to shrink, piercing his flesh with the spikes. He was unable to move a single finger, and the searing pain of the Innocence nearly drove him insane.

Allen snapped his fingers, turning away from the coffin-like cloak and its screaming prisoner. "_Shred and Grind_"

The spikes turned into blades, and began spinning, first on the circular axis of the cloak, then wildly, while the entire thing shrunk. Just as the cloak-turned-meat-grinder shredded away his fingers and feet, Damon understood that it would not stop until every cell in his body was torn by the Innocence at least once. Also, white waves of Innocence-energy had begun rippling through the torture-device, burning his remaining flesh from his cooking bones. He cried one last time as his face was torn from his skull, before said bone surrendered under the onslaught.

After five minutes, it was over. _Crown Clown_ had vanished, and the only thing that had fallen out was fine dust. Allen nodded to himself. Then he saw that a drop of blood had been spilled outside of the Innocence. He had a suspicion that it would be enough, so he reactivated his Innocence and waited. Indeed, ten seconds later, the process began, and a new body was slowly forming. Allen waited until head and shoulders had formed, Damon obviously shocked, then put his index-claw on the regenerating attacker's forehead and swiping down. "_Cross Grave_"

The cross formed, and in an agonized wail, Damon repeated the performance of the first Level 3 Allen had used this on, he dissolved into nothing. Allen gave a sweeping look to see if he had overlooked another drop of blood, but the one that was there didn't do anything, not even after two minutes. So Allen deactivated his Innocence and turned towards where the gate should be. That moment was when it happened.

-0-

His body bent as if hit by an invisible fist. Wounds appeared on his body, and even his stigmata began to bleed. Slowly he turned around and saw a naked, but very much intact Damon. He tilted his head in confusion.

Damon laughed. "Surprised? I can completely regenerate from a single strand of DNA, and we shed thousands of skin-cells carrying that DNA every day. Do you know what that means? You can kill me for years, and I'll still come back for more! I am immortal! My first name Damon comes from Dämon, a word meaning demon! No matter how often you vanquish me, I shall climb back from the depths of hell and take vengeance!"

Allen's calm gaze didn't flicker. "What did you do?" He asked, speaking for the first time.

Damon laughed. "Oh, you mean those ouchies? You see, this sword has the ability to return any injury that my opponent has ever suffered back to the same state it was when it was made! Of course, I can't return all at once, and as I am not a magician, there is the price that it kills off my entire arm when I use it, but considering that I can heal that in a second, what better price for me to pay? It's the perfect weapon!" Damon's grin widened. "And now, how about I reopen that hole in your heart?"

He rushed at him, swiped his free left hand over the flat, wide side of the blade, before thrusting it into the air. A spear of light, no thicker than a spider's string, shot out and hit Allen in the heart. The boy staggered.

Damon grinned, grabbed his sword with both hands, the blade vertical to make a big hole without cutting the boy in half, and rushed forward, intending to run the annoying boy... no, highly dangerous enemy right through, piercing him with his sword like a piece of kebab. He was twenty feet away, ten, five, three...

Suddenly Allen's head snapped up, and his right fist slammed into the blunt side of his blade, making the tip swerve to the side, missing him by over a foot. Damon tried to pull back, only to realize that he couldn't move. Allen looked him. "You were misinformed. The hole in my heart was not healed, a piece of Innocence filled it."

Damon cursed. Of course, the wound was still as open as it had been on day one, so returning it to the state it had been on day one was useless. He tried harder to move with the same success as before, none. "What's going on?" He demanded.

Allen didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked at the sword. "This should not exist." His hands glowed black, he grabbed the sword and it crumbled. "Dust to dust." Then he looked at Damon. "You should not exist."

Damon growled. "How are you holding me?" He demanded. Allen's wandered up, and Damon tried to follow his gaze. What he saw shocked him.

"_Clown Belt: Spider Curtain_" Allen stated. Above Damon's head floated Allen's Innocence, but it was different. The hood and mask were the same, just like the shoulders and the arms, however, there was no cloak. Where the cloak should be, an innumerable amount of threads sprouted, only visible since there were so many, before becoming too thinned out to really see.

Damon focused, and found that he was hopelessly tangled up in those threads. They were thinner than spiderweb, apparently didn't weigh anything and were impossible to tear. His sword probably could have, but there was no way Damon had the strength to tear these by himself with raw muscles, especially since they tightened the more he struggled, and he could already feel the pain of the Innocence these threads were made of. Wait a minute, Innocence could give off energy that would be utilized, but since when was it possible for Innocence to produce more of itself? Either way, he was in deep shit. "So, what are you waiting for? Kill me, again."

Allen looked at him. "I see. You cannot regenerate a new body while your old one still exists. That simplifies things." His hands regained their black glow.

Damon was not worried. His skin-particles were everywhere, and just for emergencies, there was always one of his hairs at headquarters. "So now you'll kill me by turning me to dust?"

Allen looked at him. "My power is _Corruption_. I will corrupt the concept of your existence until it collapses."

Damon blinked. "What?"

Genocide-Allen seemed chatty today. "I will not kill you. I will return things to the state before you were born."

Damon blinked, then he began to struggle wildly, the threads digging deep into his flesh, but he didn't care. He had finally understood that this guy wasn't going to kill him, he was planning on erasing his existence! "No. No! No, no, no no no NOOOOOOO!"

Allen cupped Damon's head and focused, not on the thing in front of him, but on what really defined the thing in front of him, what made him exist. His memories, his mind, his... soul, his place in the fabric of reality, and used his power until he could feel them collapse, their structure too corrupted to remain. Cutting the man out of reality was the truly draining part, but after that, he almost didn't have to do anything more, as Damon Lizard faded away into nothingness. He was not a part of reality, therefore he didn't exist. However, Allen had, not wanting to risk biting off more than he could chew if he messed with time as well, left the memory that Damon Lizard had, at one point, existed, untouched.

Allen blinked, and was back to his old self. His memories were fuzzy, but for the first time, they were there, and not just a blank space in his memory.

"_**I will explain what happened later. For now, it's best you return to the Arc."**_ The musician's voice rang through Allen's head.

Allen nodded, too tired to say anything, and headed for the gate. It had been a long day.

-0-

Meanwhile, in a different place, a woman in her late twenties looked up from her book by sheer coincident, looking at a small pedestal which presented a single hair. Just as she was about to return to her book, the hair glowed black and faded into nothingness. She jumped up. "Impossible!" She cried.

"What's wrong?" a new voice asked. This one belonged to a muscular man in his thirties.

The woman pointed at the pedestal. "Krakat, Damon's hair just glowed black and... faded away!" She called out.

Now the man was concerned. "That's... worrying. But wouldn't we have felt it if he had died?"

She nodded. "I think so, but... I'm getting a really bad feeling."

Krakat nodded. "We will speak with the master. He will be able to locate Damon, wherever he may be."

The woman nodded. "I hope you're right."

-0-

Allen more or less stumbled through the gate. The Earl gave him a look. "What happened to you?"

"Long story." Allen muttered.

"I have time." The Earl answered.

Allen shrugged weakly. "No Innocence anywhere. What I found was a murdering lunatic, who was almost like a Noah. His skin turned black, his eyes turned golden, only his Stigmata were tilted. He attacked me."

The Earl looked curious. "What happened then?"

Allen looked him in the eye. "I killed him." With that, he left, the Earl not stopping him.

-0-

Allen had just reached his bed, when Michael entered, bowing. "Master, I thought you might want to hear of the news the Archangels have just received."

Allen groaned. "No rest for the guilty, huh? What is it?"

Michael bowed. "A new Noah will awaken soon."

Now Allen was wide awake. "What? Do you know which one?"

Michael was still bowing. "Uriel estimated it to be Loneliness."

"_**Of all the rotten luck..."**_ The musician growled.  
_

Chapter 23 is finished. Took a while, but it is done. To all doubters, I haven't canceled this story, nor do I have any intention to. All I said is that updates for this story will not be as regular as for the others.

Anyways, I have shown a few new twists, and introduced new players. Who are they? What are their goals? And for whom do they fight? Who knows? But yes, Damon was the watcher in the Excalibur-hunt whose arm was amputated. It simply regrew.

Well, surprisingly I don't have anything else to say, aside from the fact that I hate the programmers of for removing all of the breaks I had put in the story to make them easier to read. Seriously, what's with all the extensive, annoying and completely unnecessary changes to the website? Have these people never heard of 'Don't fix it if it ain't broken'?

Anyways,

Please Review


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